I'm not ignoring you. You are just splitting hairs. The screenshot is the rule requirement of Altitude.

I know what the requirement is. But they do not have anywhere to SPECIFY a country of residence, so how do you expect them to enforce it?

I think it time to agree to disagree on this one and have a drink of water down scotch.:)

OK. But it's not just Aeroplan. The aircanada.com web page only lets you enter a mailing or contact address. And the text you posted mentions asking proof of an address. Not of residence status.

Even then, I could easily set up official residence in an EU country. In French, "domicile." Even if actually being here.

Pot, kettle...

The only place in AC's website I can think of where they explicitly ask for residency information is in "Shop for Flight Pass" where they ask you to specify "Province of Residence".

But it would appear they infer residency from your mailing address. They certainly calculate taxes differently depending on the jurisdiction of your mailing address. An Ontario resident, for example, can save money by specifying an Alberta mailing address.

I don't think that's correct.

They charge taxes based upon the province of departure.

Just compare a round trip YYC-YUL with two one way trips.

How exactly would you specify province of departure for a flight pass?

Canadian GST/HST rules are based on the province the goods or services are delivered in. I run an AB based company, but if we buy servers for delivery to our Toronto data centre we have to pay Ontario HST.

Edit: For flight passes with possible departure points that cross multiple jurisdictions, the province of delivery is unknown so utilizing the billing address of the person is a reasonable approach for a company to take. However, if one was to buy a intra-BC flight pass, the price should be based on BC HST regardless of billing address and if it's not AC is offside.

So you made me look :D

I just picked the lowest Tango fares for each of these on the exact same dates.


YYZ-YUL

Air Transportation Charges

Departing Flight - Tango 64.00
Return Flight - Tango 64.00
Surcharges 12.00

Taxes, Fees and Charges

Canada Airport Improvement Fee 50.00
Canada Quebec Sales Tax (QST #1000-043-172 TQ1991) 2.49
Canada Goods and Services Tax 1.25
Canada Harmonized Sales Tax 23.30
Air Travellers Security Charge (ATSC) 14.25
Total before options (per passenger) 231.29


YUL-YYZ


Air Transportation Charges

Departing Flight - Tango 64.00
Return Flight - Tango 64.00
Surcharges 12.00

Taxes, Fees and Charges

Canada Airport Improvement Fee 50.00
Canada Quebec Sales Tax (QST #1000-043-172 TQ1991) 17.88
Canada Goods and Services Tax 8.96
Canada Harmonized Sales Tax 3.25
Air Travellers Security Charge (ATSC)Opens in New Window 14.25
Total before options (per passenger) 234.34

You might think that, but that's not the case.

That's a pretty trivial difference. Different story for flight passes. Consider a Business Class North America pass, for example. The price difference between a buyer with an Ontario address and an Alberta address is almost $1200. If over a few years one were to buy 10-20 of those passes that difference adds up some real money.

But that's not really the point. The point is that AC is acting on the assumption that your mailing address is your residency address.

Of course it is. I was just thinking about what Stranger had said.

And of course flight passes are different issue.

Either way, this mailing address / residency was debated a long time ago when the AQD was introduced.

Well, yes. I wonder if living on a boat with no fixed address has an impact on AQD. :D

True, though I'd assume that the vast majority of pax who purchase the Business Class North America FP (and other expensive FPs) fly for business and therefore generally can get a GST/HST refund.

For such a pass, there is no practical alternative. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of CRA policy on this, but a simple one is that if the point of delivery is not determinable, than the billing/mailing address is what is used.

Excise tax law is an exceeding complex area, arguably beyond even income tax law, so a forum is not the easiest place to explain it.

In business, the most common example is website work. If I work for a national company, with servers across the country, what tax rate should my web designer charge me? In such a case, the answer is: whatever the rate is for the billing address I give them.

Of course it is. For the second time.
I chose a simple Tango lowest ticket.
And of course the price difference will matter on a Flight Pass. Assuming it is a 10-credit pass, that is essentially 5 RTs.

Looking at a single YYZ-YVR in Business Lowest, same days, similar times and aircraft.

Multiply either of these trips by 5 and yes, it adds up.

(Gotta love those "surcharges")


YYZ-YVR

Air Transportation Charges

Departing Flight - Business Class (lowest) 1052.00
Return Flight - Business Class (lowest) 1052.00
SurchargesOpens in New Window 646.00

Taxes, Fees and Charges

Canada Airport Improvement FeeOpens in New Window 45.00
Canada Goods and Services Tax (GST/HST #10009-2287 RT0001) 1.00
Canada Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST #10009-2287 RT0001) 362.60
Air Travellers Security Charge (ATSC)Opens in New Window 14.25
Total before options (per passenger) 3172.85


YVR-YYZ

Air Transportation Charges

Departing Flight - Business Class (lowest) 1052.00
Return Flight - Business Class (lowest) 1052.00
SurchargesOpens in New Window 646.00

Taxes, Fees and Charges

Canada Airport Improvement FeeOpens in New Window 45.00
Canada Goods and Services Tax (GST/HST #10009-2287 RT0001) 139.21
Canada Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST #10009-2287 RT0001) 3.25
Air Travellers Security Charge (ATSC)Opens in New Window 14.25
Total before options (per passenger) 2951.71


5x the difference is $1,105. Might be a lot to some, pennies to others.

And completely irrelevant since you buy the ticket from where they need/want to start their trip. Usually. :D

Eventually the debate over mailing address versus residency will run its course.

(And should AC decide to add that field in the Member Profile, I'm sure their IT provider will be thrilled to bill them a lot more money for it. :D )