This appeal concerned whether taxes collected by Enterprise Rent-A-Car on insurance products were Retail Sales Tax (RST) or Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) for assessment purposes.
Enterprise had collected and remitted these taxes as HST to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
The Minister of Finance assessed Enterprise for RST, arguing Enterprise had erroneously remitted RST as HST.
The Court of Appeal found the motion judge erred by focusing on Enterprise's belief about the tax collected, rather than the factual question of what tax was actually collected.
The Court concluded that Enterprise had, in fact, collected HST, based on its invoicing practices and remittances.
As the Minister's assessments were based on "tax collected" under the Retail Sales Tax Act, and Enterprise had collected HST, the assessments had no legal basis.
The appeal was allowed, and the Minister's assessments were set aside.
