Ottawa Plans to Exempt Counselling and Psychotherapy from Sales Tax in Effort to Make Mental Health Care More Affordable

• The federal government plans to make counselling and psychotherapy exempt from the GST and HST.
• This would align them with other health care providers and services covered by provincial plans.
• The government recognizes that mental health services can be expensive and wants to make them more affordable.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of mental health care.
• Hourly appointments with a counsellor can cost over $100, and the costs increase for specialized services.
• The exemption is estimated to cost $10 million annually and is set to begin in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
• Legislation and royal assent are required for this tax measure to take effect.

Source: globalnews.ca

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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