Mark, I was talking about individuals paying former PST, not a seller collecting. I don't know what's up with the HST in this regard now.

One unfortunate part of the HST however is that other provinces are now responsible for collecting it from Ontario buyers. So there's no more escaping the 8% PST portion when buying retail from out of province. Previously it was up to the individual to remit payment directly to the Ontario government.

As far as I'm concerned a tip is a gift.