This Saskatoon teen got a great deal on a used truck. Then SGI hit him with the PST bill.

A Saskatoon family is voicing concerns after paying twice as much PST as expected on a recently purchased truck.

Like many teenagers, 15-year-old Otto Eggerman got a job and saved up for his first vehicle. He recently bought a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado.

“When I first got it, I was pretty happy,” he said.

He said he paid around $12,300 for the truck, but when the time came to register it, SGI valued it at about $24,500.

Based on the six per cent PST, the Eggerman family would have to pay about $1,470, instead of the $738 they were expecting to pay in taxes.

Provincial sales tax on used car sales was implemented in 2018 and is charged upon registration for private sales, according to SGI’s website.

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Otto’s father Chad said they were prepared to pay PST on the purchase price, not on the estimated value.

“We knew the PST was coming, but PST is supposed to be applied to the actual value of the product, and so the actual value of the transaction was for $12,300,” he said.

CTV News reached out to SGI and was referred to the Ministry of Finance.

In a statement, the ministry said PST is calculated based on the purchase price or Canadian Red Book value, whichever amount is higher.

It said if an individual paid less than the red book value and the condition warrants a lower price, they can contact the ministry to determine if the purchase price may be used for PST instead.

“Evidence must be provided to support the lower purchase price,” the statement read.

Chad said they are currently going through the appeal process.

“It's my son; his first vehicle. He worked very hard, so every dollar counts. So, I ended up paying for the PST, but we're still in the process of trying to get that back if we can,” he said.

Meanwhile, Otto encourages people to beware of the tax when car shopping.

“I would hope they would take into consideration how much you actually have to spend on all the taxes, including buying the vehicle, so I would just look into doing some more research before you actually [buy],” he said.

The Ministry of Finance says neither it, nor SGI officials and motor license issuers, can disclose red book values.