Ontario will continue to provide a provincial exemption for First Nations under the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). This exemption has been in place in Ontario for 30 years under the Retail Sales Tax (RST). Effective September 1, 2010, Status Indians will be exempt from paying the provincial portion of the HST on eligible purchases off-reserve.

Under the HST, purchases by Status Indians are exempt when purchased on or delivered to a reserve by a vendor or its agent. Ontario's treatment will extend this exemption to eligible goods and select services purchased off-reserve — the same system that exists right now under the RST.

The Ontario government and First Nations leaders have been working together to maintain the point of sale exemption. In June 2010, all provincial parties supported a motion in the Ontario legislature calling on the federal government to maintain the current point of sale exemption.

The exemption will come into place on September 1, 2010. In the interim, from July 1 to August 31, First Nations can receive refunds by submitting receipts to the Ministry of Revenue.

• For 30 years, Ontario has provided an RST point of sale exemption for most goods and select services purchased by Status Indians.
• Under the Memorandum of Agreement signed on May 3, 2010, by the Ontario Regional Chief on behalf of the Political Confederacy, and the Ontario government, the province pledged to work with the federal government to include a point of sale exemption for Ontario's Status Indians under the HST framework.