Tax Question Regarding The Sale Of Coins.....

Here's the wording of the law itself regarding small suppliers (s. 148 of the Excise Tax Act):

148. (1) For the purposes of this Part, a person is a small supplier throughout a particular calendar quarter and the first month immediately following the particular calendar quarter if

(a) the total of all amounts each of which is the value of the consideration (other than consideration referred to in section 167.1 that is attributable to goodwill of a business) that became due in the four calendar quarters immediately preceding the particular calendar quarter, or that was paid in those four calendar quarters without having become due, to the person or an associate of the person at the beginning of the particular calendar quarter for taxable supplies (other than supplies of financial services and supplies by way of sale of capital property of the person or associate) made inside or outside Canada by the person or associate

does not exceed the total of

(b) $30,000 or, where the person is a public service body, $50,000, and

(c) where, in the four calendar quarters immediately preceding the particular calendar quarter, the person or an associate of the person at the beginning of the particular calendar quarter made a taxable supply of a right to participate in a game of chance or is deemed, under section 187, to have made a supply in respect of a bet and the supply is a taxable supply, the total of all amounts each of which is

(i) an amount of money paid or payable by the person or the associate as a prize or winnings in the game or in satisfaction of the bet, or

(ii) consideration paid or payable by the person or the associate for property or a service that is given as a prize or winnings in the game or in satisfaction of the bet.

Exception
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where at any time in a calendar quarter

(a) the total of all amounts each of which is the value of the consideration (other than consideration referred to in section 167.1 that is attributable to goodwill of a business) that became due in the calendar quarter, or that was paid in that calendar quarter without having become due, to a person or an associate of the person at the beginning of the calendar quarter for taxable supplies (other than supplies of financial services and supplies by way of sale of capital property of the person or associate) made inside or outside Canada by the person or associate

exceeds the total of

(b) $30,000 or, where the person is a public service body, $50,000, and

(c) where, in the calendar quarter, the person or an associate of the person at the beginning of the calendar quarter made a taxable supply of a right to participate in a game of chance or is deemed, under section 187, to have made a supply in respect of a bet and the supply is a taxable supply, the total of all amounts each of which is

(i) an amount of money paid or payable by the person or the associate as a prize or winnings in the game or in satisfaction of the bet, or

(ii) consideration paid or payable by the person or the associate for property or a service that is given as a prize or winnings in the game or in satisfaction of the bet,

the person is not a small supplier throughout the period beginning immediately before that time and ending on the last day of the calendar quarter.

Application
(3) This section does not apply to a non-resident person who makes a supply in Canada of admissions in respect of a place of amusement, a seminar, an activity or an event and whose only business carried on in Canada is the making of such supplies.

Meaning of "associate"

(4) In this section, "associate" of a particular person at any time means another person who is associated at that time with the particular person.

Thanks for the great info!

If the CRA comes a knockin, I'll be A-OK.

Worth considering:

I am not sure how this applies to other countries, but you may find exemptions to GST in relation to second hand collectible items.

You may still need to register at a certain threshold of turnover, and report sales, but may not necessarily have to collect or pay GST related taxation.

Note: I'm not an expert - just suggesting looking in to it, as it could make a big difference to your margins.

But if you're selling one single coin that's worth more than $30,000 then is that considered a business? How do they come up with such a silly number?

This issue can become very tricky when you claim that you inherited your coins from your parents or gradparents