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The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has inched one step closer to scrapping tax on auto insurance after legislators introduced a proposed amendment to the Revenue Administration Act.
The amendment, which is yet to be passed, was presented by Finance Minister Tom Osborne in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, June 18. Once passed, which Osborne expects will happen at the end of the month, the amendment will put an end to the 13% tax on auto insurance renewal statements.
Retroactive rebates are being offered to any drivers who paid for their auto insurance renewal between the amendment’s passing and April 15, which is the day the province’s Liberal Government first announced the end of the tax. Those who renewed their insurance before April 15 will have to wait until their next renewal date for a rebate.
CBC News reports Osborne saying: “At that particular point the insurance companies can do what they need to do to act as expeditiously as possible in rebating their customers. And once we find out what that dollar figure is from the insurance companies, we’ll rebate the insurance companies.
“That’s a moving target, the time that rebates start or that this becomes official, because the moment it becomes official and it’s law, insurance companies can stop charging the tax. But every day there are further renewals … so we haven’t calculated that, but it’s about $57 million on an annual basis that the reduction in automobile sales tax will be for the province.”
