Kahkewistahaw First Nation announces Community Improvement Fee
- EFN Staff | January 07, 2016
Kahkewistahaw First Nation - Consumers on the Kahkewistahaw First Nation will now be contributing to the improvement of the community with every purchase they make thanks to the implementation of the Kahkewistahaw Community Improvement Fee (KCIF). The fee will be replacing the GST on the reserve and will apply to everyone, including Status Indians, except some provincial and territorial governments who acquire a taxable supply of goods or services on Kahkewistahaw First Nation reserve lands including the location of the Painted Hand Casino in Yorkton.
“Our First Nation has worked on this initiative for a number of years,” said Kahkewistahaw Chief Louis Taypotat. “There was hesitation at first, but on December 13, 2014, a vote of our members was held where the members approved and supported the First Nation moving forward to implement our own Community Improvement Fee under the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act. The Council would never have moved forward with this initiative without our members’ support. With the members’ support, Kahkewistahaw has taken the necessary steps to have our Community Improvement Fee implemented. It is our hope that the funds generated by our Community Improvement Fee will bring much-needed benefits for our community and our members.”
The Kahkewistahaw First Nation and the Government of Canada finalized an agreement on November 27, 2015 to implement a First Nations Goods and Services Tax (FNGST), referred to as the Kahkewistahaw Community Improvement Fee (KCIF). The KCIF will be administered by the Canada Revenue Agency and went into effect December 11, 2015. The KCIF replaces the goods and services tax (GST) on goods and services previously subject to GST. The rate for KCIF is 5%, identical to the GST, and has the same basic operating rules as the GST and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).
“The implementation of the Kahkewistahaw First Nation Community Improvement Fee is a positive outcome of the ongoing collaboration between the Canada Revenue Agency and our First Nations partners. We look forward to providing continued service and working together with the First Nation in the future,” said Cheryl Bartell, Assistant Commissioner, Canada Revenue Agency, Prairie Region.