Stop taxing youth sport, says ringette coach

A P.E.I. ringette coach is petitioning the provincial government to exempt amateur sports groups from having to pay HST on facility rentals.

Kenneth MacNeill is on the Rustico ringette board of directors and is assistant coach of the under-14 ringette team. The organization has about 75 players, and MacNeill said over the course of the year the club pays about $3,000 in HST for ice time.

"When we set our registration fees we're just covering our ice times, so if we have to buy any equipment, jerseys we're been doing that through fundraising," said MacNeill.

"If we didn't [pay HST] we'd have an extra 3,000, or we'd charge 3,000 less on our registrations."

MacNeill posted a petition at the North Star Arena, and close to 40 people have signed it so far. Once the arena closes for the season, in a couple of weeks, he will give the petition to local MLA Brad Trivers.

The finance minister's office says arena rentals are subject to HST and were not among the announced provincial exemptions.

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