By Monique Johnson
Special to the Oshawa Express

It’s a common saying that life guarantees two things, death and taxes. And Premier Dalton McGuinty’s new harmonized tax set to take effect July 1, 2010, guarantees the cost of your funeral will go up. According to the Ontario Funeral Services Association, Ontarians pay
five per cent GST on funerals. But the new harmonized tax will combine the five per cent GST tax with an eight per cent PST tax. This will cause the overall tax on a funeral to jump to 13 per cent. This presents a problem for people who have already prepaid for their
funerals. They may have to go into their pockets once more to pay the extra tax. And John Kellam, the owner and operator of McIntosh Anderson Funeral Home in Oshawa, is not in
favour of it whatsoever.“It’s definitely an issue. They (customers) pay with the understanding that it’s paid for,” he says. Kellam adds it’s unfair that people who have prepaid may have to shell out extra dollars once the tax comes into effect next year.

His clients already have an issue paying GST on funerals, he says. Kellam doesn’t think they will react well once they realize they must pay an extra eight per cent on top of the GST. He hopes the harmonized tax will be grandfathered for those who prepaid for their funerals. This will provide some solace for customers, he says. According to Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s press secretary, Alicia Johnston, Minister Duncan feels the same way.“It’s the minister’s hope that existing contracts won’t be subject to the tax,” says Johnston. A date will be set before the harmonized tax takes effect to determine if existing contracts for those who have prepaid will be affected by the tax, she says.