Canada Travel Costs Rise With Tax : Taxes: Travel to our northern neighbor may be a little more costly in 1991, since a new 7% goods and services tax has been added.

Visiting Canada may be more expensive in 1991 since a new goods and services tax or GST of 7% has been put into effect. This broad-based tax covers accommodations, airfares, restaurants, car rentals, sightseeing attractions and items purchased in stores.

The good news is that travelers can get rebates for lodging and purchases taken out of Canada. However, meals, admission to attractions, alcohol, tobacco and gasoline purchases are excluded from the rebate program.

Not all travel expenditures are taxed.

Canadian businesses with annual sales of less than about $34,000--B&Bs; for example--don’t have to charge the GST.

Roundtrip air tickets to Canada from the U.S. are not taxed. Tour packages purchased from a Canadian tour operator aren’t taxed if the package includes a flight to the U.S. Cruises that include a foreign stopover are not subject to the tax.

Most international transportation services are exempt from the tax. Transportation within Canada is exempt as long as it’s part of a continuous journey beginning and ending outside Canada and it’s paid for in the U.S.

But tickets purchased in Canada to another Canadian destination or to the U.S. are taxed.

To find out if the tax has been charged, look at the purchase receipts. The tax should be marked separately.

The minimum rebate is about $6 on about $85 worth of purchases, in U.S. dollars. However, it’s acceptable to combine expenditures for different purchases and trips when requesting a rebate. Only one application per calendar quarter is allowed, though.

To get a rebate, request a rebate form at the store where the purchase is made, at hotels or in participating duty-free shops at border crossing stations and international airports.

Return the completed rebate form and the appropriate receipts to airport/border crossing desks for an on-the-spot rebate in Canadian dollars.

Or mail the appropriate papers from California to: Revenue Canada, Customs & Excise, P.O. Box 82110, North Burnaby Postal Station, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C5P2, (604) 666-4664. The rebate will be mailed in U.S. currency within about four weeks.

You have one year from the date of purchase of goods/accommodations to submit rebate applications.

For further information about the GST, contact Revenue Canada or check with the Canadian Consulate General, 300 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90071 (213) 687-7432.