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Ottawa, August 15, 2005
2005-053

Minister of Finance Releases Draft Legislative Proposals Implementing Remaining Budget 2005 Income Tax Measures

Related documents:

• Legislative Proposals Relating to Certain Income Tax Measures Announced in Budget 2005

• Explanatory Notes to Legislative Proposals Relating to Certain Income Tax Measures Announced in Budget 2005

Minister of Finance Ralph Goodale today released a package of draft amendments to the Income Tax Act to implement measures originally proposed in Budget 2005. These measures include:

• Introducing a new tax credit for adoption expenses such as adoption agency and legal fees.

• Improving the disability tax credit and making it more widely available.

• Further changes to improve the tax treatment of persons with disabilities and those who care for them, for example, by doubling the amount of disability-related and medical expenses that can be claimed by a caregiver, and expanding the list of expenses eligible for the medical expense tax credit and the disability supports deduction.

• Helping agricultural cooperative corporations through a new tax deferral in respect of certain patronage dividends.

The majority of the income tax measures announced in Budget 2005 were introduced in the Budget Implementation Bill (Bill C-43) tabled in Parliament on March 24, 2005, which received Royal Assent on June 29, 2005. The proposals released today represent the remaining income tax measures proposed in Budget 2005 but not included in Bill C-43.

The legislative proposals are being released in draft form so that taxpayers and their advisors will have an opportunity to consider and comment on them before they are introduced in Parliament. To facilitate this review, detailed explanatory notes relating to the proposals are also being released. Comments on the proposals are requested by September 30, 2005.

Once the comment period is concluded, the Government will work towards introducing these measures in Parliament at the earliest opportunity.

The Minister also reiterated the Government’s intention to reintroduce, in stand-alone legislation, two specific corporate taxation measures, which were eliminated from or constrained in Bill C-43 during the parliamentary process.

The draft legislation and explanatory notes may be viewed on the Department of Finance website.

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