So I have a friend who took a new offer in Alberta for an executive position as no one in his company wants to relocate for an unproven new venture.
The offer is for a minimum 2yr contract. And given the HUGE tax difference on exotic cars, my friend is looking to purchase one while there, and ultimately bring it back to BC if he can find a better position once the contract is up.
A quick reading on ICBC, cars from outside of BC is subject to a depreciation scheme as far as PST is concerned. 30% reduction for every year.
Thus, the question is how's that 30% calculated? Is it from the sales price (minus GST) of the original sale or something ICBC has internally? And there's our infamous luxury tax on vehicles, how would the calculation work out?
The idea is to buy something exotic in the 250k-300k range. And let's say it's 2yr sharp with 300k car... so the valuation for PST consideration is 300k*0.4=120k.
But the taxation table is a mess as far as PST is concerned and we can't quite collectively figure it out even after reading the ICBC Bulletin.
Does anyone have experience car to share what PST rate he'd be subjected? Is it 12% or 10% ("imported into Canada")? Or is it 20%? (based on the original 300k sales price)
He's there by himself for the first few months while the family is still in BC (if that makes any difference) and depending on how he feels, he'd decide whether to move the kids or not... but chances are, kids will stay in BC as they are in a quite decent private school and they aren't willing to give up the spots.