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HST/GST Exemption Added to Private Members’ Bill C-323The initiative by the Canadian Massage Therapist Association (CMTA) to have massage therapy among the health services exempted from GST made progress with MP Brad Vis‘ presentation of the petition signed by 18,362 Canadians supporting this change. Further, on June 17, 2024, Dr. Stephen Ellis, MP for Cumberland-Colchester in Nova Scotia, presented a motion to include massage therapy services among the health services to be exempted from GST in private members’ Bill C-323. Previously, Bill C-323 was limited to exempting mental health services from GST/HST. This is the motion text: That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word ‘“That” and substituting the following: “Bill C-323, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (mental health services), be not now read a third time but be referred back to the Standing Committee on Finance for the purpose of reconsidering Clause 1 with the view to amend the clause so as to include massage therapy among the health services to be exempted from the Goods and Services Tax, and the committee be invited to consider reporting the bill back to the House within 15 sitting days following the adoption of this order.” While this does not ensure that massage therapy services will be exempted in the next budget, it does link massage therapy services with mental health services which the current Federal Government has previously said they will exempt from GST/HST. The results of the committee consideration of the amendment will be available once Parliament reconvenes in the fall. |
E-Petition Demonstrates Strong Support for HST/GST Exemption for Massage Therapy Services
The CMTA conducted an e-petition from December 2023-April 2024. The e-petition was signed by 18, 382 Canadians who support the exemption of GST/HST on massage therapy services. Government tabled a response to the e-petition on May 30:
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4662
CMTA continues to advocate for this exemption and will provide regular updates on the progress in the coming months.
What is a non-taxable health service?
Historically, health care services rendered by regulated health practitioners specified in the schedule of the Federal Excise Tax Act are non-taxable health services. Regulated health professions with HST/GST exemption include Doctors of Chiropractic Medicine, Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine, Psychologists, Optometrists, Physiotherapists and Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners.
As the regulation of massage therapy came into effect in Prince Edward Island in March 2019, massage therapy now meets the basic criteria to begin the process of joining the list of exempt HST/GST practitioners. The profession is now regulated in five provinces or territories—Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador and now Prince Edward Island.
In order to begin this process we need to request the federal government for a change to the Federal Excise Tax Act in order that massage therapy treatments are specified as tax exempt in the same manner as these other health professions.
RMTACT News
Integration
RMTs don’t work in a silo—they are an important member of a patient’s health care team, working collaboratively with other healthcare providers to improved health outcomes
Knowledge
RMTs help address injuries and conditions that stem from the course of everyday life, including workplace or ergonomic injuries, athletic injuries, stress, anxiety and depression
Fairness
Services provided by other health professionals, such as chiropractors and physiotherapists, are exempt from HST/GST
Massage Therapist
Garo E
Maple, ON
"Massage therapy helps many people manage chronic pain, pain related to repetitive strain, improves mobility and functional abilities, and can improve quality of life and become more functional in their daily activities."