Andy asked:

Can a non active Canadian company that only collects interest and dividends claim back the GST and PST (Quebec) paid out on invoices for accounting services, phone bill, etc.

Gord Ahier answered:

In general, Canadian holding corporations that do not carry on commercial activity are not eligible to register for GST and are therefore not able to claim input tax credits ("GST paid out on invoices for accounting services , phone bill etc"). However, if the holding corporation holds shares or debt of a related corporation and all or substantially all (more than 90 per cent) of the related corporation's assets are used in its commercial activities, then the holding corporation would also be eligible to register for GST. In practice, since only the portion of the holding corporation's operating expenses that directly relate to maintaining its investment in the related corporation are deductible, we do not advise that the holding corporation register for GST as the benefits generally do not outweigh the costs.

Two corporations are related if:

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