From my family to yours, I wish everyone all the blessings of the Christmas holiday season. I was very appreciative of the many constituents who braved cold weather temperatures to attend our Crowfoot Constituency Office Christmas Open House. As your Member of Parliament, I always look forward to coming home from Ottawa to share some holiday cheer with constituents at our Christmas Open House.
As you know, our Conservative government’s top priority is jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity. Our efforts include helping to sustain communities and families more effectively. One way that we do this is by encouraging Canada’s charitable sector and those Canadians who give their time, effort, and money to their communities.
Canadians have a long and proud tradition of helping those in need. This is often most evident during the holiday season, when our generosity is extended to the many organizations in local communities that help those who need it most. Canada’s incentives for charitable donations have been described as among the most generous in the world. In Canada, registered charities are exempt from tax on their income and may issue official donation receipts for gifts received. Donors can use those receipts to reduce their own income taxes by claiming the charitable donation tax credit. In 2012, federal tax assistance for charitable donations was more than $2.9 billion.
Efforts to foster and promote a culture of giving contribute to sustaining a higher quality of life for hard-working Canadians. If you are thinking of making a charitable donation for the first time, our government is giving you an extra reason to donate generously. As part of Economic Action Plan 2013, our government introduced a new, temporary, first-time donor’s ‘super credit’, to encourage Canadians to take that first step to donate and support charitable endeavours in their communities.
Monetary donations made by first-time donors after March 20, 2013, and before December 31, 2017, now qualify for the first-time donor’s super credit. Individuals qualify as first-time donors if neither they nor their spouse or common-law partner has claimed the charitable donation tax credit since 2007. The new incentive provides an extra 25% credit when claiming the charitable donation tax credit. This means a 40% federal credit for donations of $200 or less, and a 54% federal credit for the portion of donations that are over $200, up to $1,000. This is in addition to provincial and territorial tax credits.
Whether you can give a small or large amount, your charity is appreciated by those less fortunate. Thank you for all that you do in our Crowfoot Riding during the Christmas season and throughout the year.
More information about the first-time donor’s super credit is available at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/fdsc/. Before you give, remember to also donate wisely by researching charities at http://www.cra.gc.ca/donors.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this or previous columns you may write to me at 4945-50th Street, Camrose, Alberta, T4V 1P9, call 780-608-4600, toll-free 1-800-665-4358, fax 780-608-4603 or e-mail Kevin.Sorenson.C1@parl.gc.ca.
