Sports organizations feeling HST pinch

If you're an adult enrolled in recreational sports, chances are the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) has added to the cost of your playtime activity.

And even youth sports groups are feeling the pinch.

The Prince George Youth Soccer Association, which has about 2,550 kids involved, does not collect HST in its membership fees because more than half of its members are under the age of 14. But that hasn't protected the PGYSA from a rent increase directly attributed to the HST, which went into effect July 1, 2010.

"The HST impacts us in other ways, but we don't have to charge our membership for it," said Linda Herman, executive director of the PGYSA.

"One of the places we see it is on our rent. We never used to have to pay GST on our rent, so effectively our rent has gone up $288 a month on our indoor facility. We can't claim that back. We're not eligible because you have to have at least 40 per cent of your funding from the federal, provincial or municipal governments."

The PGYSA ranks among the province's largest youth soccer organizations. Its annual operating budget is about $750,000, mostly generated through league fees and community sponsorships, and Herman said most of that money will be spent by the end of the year.

HST has not been as noticeable for players in the Prince George Senior Baseball League. Player registration fees are submitted by the teams, which are required to each pay $2,300. The league, in turn, pays $2,000 for membership in the B.C. Senior Baseball Association. The rest of that money is used to pay such operational costs as lighting at the ball park and umpires' fees.

Although the PGSBL does not collect HST directly from its players, that doesn't mean it's not being paid. That responsibility to pay the federal tax falls on the parent body, Baseball B.C.

PGSBL treasurer Lance Brommeland said the impact of the HST is felt more when buying baseball equipment or uniforms. The goods and services tax (GST) has always been applied to sporting goods, but Brommeland says the HST cost savings which now apply at the distribution level are not reducing the pre-tax cost of those items to consumers.

"When we had GST, that's a point-of-sale tax taken right at the cash register, but when we had that, consumer products were actually taxed by the federal government before they even hit the store," Brommeland said. "So when the distributor bought it, they paid a tax, and as a consumer, you were paying tax [on an already-taxed item].

"[After the HST was implemented], when the distributors were no longer [being charged] tax, they were supposed to let the price of the products go down by that amount, but they didn't. They just kept collecting the tax and didn't pass the savings on to the consumers. So now we're paying it three times, and the price went up."

Brommeland said league fees increased substantially in 2010, when the provincial government cut access to gaming grants, from $1,500 per team to $2,300 per team.

Ice rental fees in the Prince George Minor Hockey Association and Prince George Rec Hockey are now taxed at 12 per cent since the HST was brought in. Prior to last July, only the GST and not the seven per cent provincial sales tax (PST) was applied to arena fees.

Players in the North Cariboo Senior Soccer League now have to pay an additional $15 per player in HST in addition to the $165 registration fee. In previous years, the PST did not apply to registration fees.