FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tax
Fairness Closer for People with Disabilities Thanks to New Report
Toronto,
December 16, 2004
Attention:
News / Political Editor
Tax fairness
for people with disabilities in Canada is closer thanks to a comprehensive
report released December 15.
“The Disability
Tax Fairness report provides solutions that are practical and
do-able right now. We ask that the government of Canada act
quickly to implement the recommendations in the report by the Technical
Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities,” said
Deanna Groetzinger, vice-president, communications, Multiple
Sclerosis Society of Canada, one of a number of national organizations
in the Coalition for Disability Tax Credit Reform.
“We
are very pleased that the Technical Advisory Committee listened to Canadians
with disabilities and the organizations that represent them. Our coalition
will continue to monitor how and when the government follows through
on the 25 recommendations,”
added Max Beck, executive director, Easter Seals/ March of Dimes
National Council.
The recommendations
in Disability Tax Fairness seek to achieve a fairer and more
responsive tax system for people with disabilities.
- A
crucial recommendation is that the Canada Revenue Agency
takes steps to ensure that people, who have severe and prolonged
impairments that have intermittent signs and symptoms, are
eligible for the disability tax credit (DTC).
- The committee
also recommended that the wording “perceiving, thinking and
remembering” as an activity of daily living be replaced with
the term “mental functions necessary for everyday life.”
- Another
important recommendation expands the eligibility for people who have
restrictions in two or more basic activities of daily living if the
restrictions have a cumulative effect.
“The
recommendations in Disability Tax Fairness, if implemented,
would make a major impact on the lives of many Canadians. It
is especially heartening that the committee members recognize that new
funding programs, not just tax measures, are a priority to truly benefit
Canadians with disabilities,” Ms. Groetzinger said.
The establishment
of the Technical Advisory Committee in 2003 grew out of the
disability community’s criticism of the government’s increasingly
restrictive interpretation of the eligibility requirements for the DTC.
The credit provides modest tax relief for people with severe and prolonged
disabilities by recognizing the additional costs of living with a disability.
The Coalition
for Disability Tax Credit Reform has been the driving force calling
for changes in the eligibility requirements of the DTC to ensure tax
fairness for Canadians with mental and physical disabilities.
Members of
the coalition include: ARCH, Alzheimer Society of Canada, The
Arthritis Society, Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, Canadian Association
of Community Living, Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, Canadian
Mental Health Association, Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Easter
Seals/ March of Dimes National Council, Family Association for Mental
Health Everywhere, Family Mental Health Alliance, Learning Disabilities
Association of Canada, Mood Disorders Association of Ontario, Multiple
Sclerosis Society of Canada, National Network for Mental Health, Ontario
Brain Injury Association, Ontario Federation of Community Mental Health & Addictions
Program, Parkinson Society Canada and Schizophrenia Society
of Canada.
| Contacts: |
Deanna
Groetzinger |
| |
Multiple
Sclerosis Society of Canada |
| |
(416)
967-3007 |
| |
|
| |
Cindy
DesGrosseilliers |
| |
Multiple
Sclerosis Society of Canada |
| |
(416)
967-3015 |
| |
|
| |
Max
Beck |
| |
Easter
Seals/ March of Dimes |
| |
(416)
932-8382 |
 |
