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Ottawa must pass a law revoking digital service tax before refunds are issued: CRA

Ottawa must pass a law revoking digital service tax before refunds are issued: CRA

CTV News3 days ago
The Canada Revenue Agency says it has collected some proceeds from the digital services tax, but will issued refunds after legislation is passed. Canada Revenue Agency signage is shown in Ottawa on Friday, June 28, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA — The Canada Revenue Agency says taxpayers who already paid the now-defunct digital services tax will have to wait for Ottawa to pass new legislation before they can get their refund.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced late Sunday that, in a bid to restart trade negotiations with the United States, Canada was dropping the tax on global tech giants.
The first payment was due Monday and could have cost American companies like Amazon and Uber billions of dollars.
A CRA spokesperson says the agency already collected some revenue from the digital services tax before Ottawa's reversal but didn't cite an amount.
MPs are now on their summer break and the spokesperson says they'll need to pass legislation formally revoking the tax when Parliament returns in order for taxpayers to get their money back.
The CRA waived the requirement for taxpayers to file a DST return ahead of the June 30 deadline and will not ask for any related payments in the meantime.
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Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
With files from Anja Karadeglija
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025.
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