On Oct. 30 the federal government announced a new family taxation program that will increase benefits for Canadian families. Airdrie MP Blake Richards said the new cuts “will be something that will have a significant impact on families.”
“Without question I believe it’s a very significant change for families all across Alberta,” he said. “(In Airdrie) we are a family community of parents and children. This is going to have a huge impact for our community.”
“Our government is fulfilling its promise to balance the federal budget,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in the press release. “We are now in a position to fulfill our promise to help Canadian families balance theirs.”
The new tax cuts increase the Universal Child Care Benefits (UCCB) for children less than six by $100 per month as of Jan. 1, 2015, making parents eligible for up to $1,920 per child per year.
The UCCB is also being expanded to children older than six up to 17 years old. As of Jan. 1, 2015 parents will receive a benefit of $60 per month up to $720 per child per year.
The maximum Child Care Expense Deduction limit is increasing by $1,000 to $8,000 for children less than seven, to $5,000 for children ages seven to 16 and to $11,000 for children who are eligible for the Disability Tax Credit. This increase will take place in the 2015 taxation year.
The plan also doubles the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit to claim a maximum of $1,000 and makes it refundable. The increased fitness credit takes effect in the 2014 taxation year.
But perhaps the most significant change is the Family Tax Cut, which allows a spouse to transfer up to $50,000 of taxable income to a spouse in a lower tax bracket. The credit will provide a tax relief of up to $2,000 for couples with children less than 18 years old.
The Family Tax Cut will take effect for the 2014 taxation year and is known as income splitting.
“The income splitting (will) obviously help a lot of families and on top of that is the Universal Child Care (increase and age extension),” Blake said.
He said the new family taxation plan will help about four million Canadian families and will proved an average of $1,140 in savings per family in 2015.
“This is helping those families at a lower income,” Blake said.
“Our government is focused on helping hard-working Canadian families make ends meet, by making important priorities like child care and after-school sports more affordable,” Harper said in the press release.
“Under this plan, every family with children will have more money in their pockets to spend on their priorities as a family.”
For more information on the Family Tax Cut, visit cra-arc.gc.ca
