Charities and the 2009 Federal Budget
January 28, 2009
The Federal Government’s 2009 Budget was presented January 27, 2009 by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. The 2009 Budget does not contain any announcements or provisions directed at the general charitable sector. The charitable sector made a number of suggestions to Minister Flaherty and the Government that would have provided increased incentive for charitable giving and supported the valuable work done by Canadian charities. These suggestions included increasing the charitable tax credit available on charitable donations, elimination of the capital gains tax paid on gifts of private company shares or real estate when gifted to charities, and an increase in the GST rebate available to charities.
The budget speech, materials and related legislative changes to the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act (GST) are all available on the Finance departments website at http://www.budget.gc.ca/2009/home-accueil-eng.asp
