New HST Exempted From Pre-Paid Funeral & Cemetery Services
The Ontario Government has announced that the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) to be implemented on
Today, funeral services are subject to the 5% GST. For example, consumers who spend
"There are many sound financial, practical and emotional reasons for consumers to pre-plan their funerals," said
Increasingly, Canadians are discovering the value of funeral and cemetery pre-planning. Last year in the province of Ontario(1):
- 87,855 people died - 19,276 pre-paid contracts were provided - 21.9% of funeral services were funded with pre-paid funeral contracts - 30,024 new pre-paid funeral contracts were signed - The average cost of funeral services was $4,475 (Includes the cost of the funeral, visitation, body preparation and services to have the body interred or cremated, etc. It does not include taxes or disbursements such as death notices, flowers or cemetery charges.) - The average cost of direct to cremation was $1,614 (Includes the minimum services required to have the body interred or cremated.) ------------------------------------ (1) Statistics obtained from "Ontario Funeral Sector, Quick Facts, 2008," published by the Board of Funeral Services.
"Today, many of us are planning our careers, planning for our children's education or weddings, and we are planning for our retirement," said Berthiaume. "It makes a lot of sense to pre-plan our funerals, too. With the added incentive of substantial tax savings for those who finalize funeral contracts before the HST comes into effect, pre-planning is more appealing than ever before."
Established in 1961, GFD is an independent, not-for-profit organization that administers, invests, and reports on pre-paid funeral service funds. GFD currently manages over
To learn more, contact Guaranteed Funeral Deposits at 1-800-268-2466, or visit www.gfd.org to find a member funeral professional in your community.
For further information: Harry Renaud, President & CAO, Guaranteed Funeral Deposits, T: 1-800-268-2466 x 225, E: [email protected]; Loretta Zita, Marketing and Communications Manager, Guaranteed Funeral Deposits, T: 1-800-268-2466 x 228, E: [email protected]
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