16 October 1998 Ministerial Letter 9824318 - BUDGET CHANGES TO MOVING EXPENSES

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Department.

Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle du ministère.

Principal Issues: 98 budget amendment to moving reimbursement

Position: finance issue

Reasons: change in Act

XXXXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXXXXX:

The Honourable Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of National Revenue, has asked me to reply to your correspondence of September 11, 1998, concerning the proposals in the 1998 Federal Budget with respect to employee relocations.

You were particularly concerned with the proposal to include employer subsidies for higher mortgage interest payments in income and the partial inclusion of payments for the loss or decrease in value of an employee’s residence. As indicated in the budget, the exclusion of these amounts from income results in a significant advantage over those who do not receive such subsidies and the proposal will improve the fairness of the tax system. Also the budget proposes to expand the definition of deductible moving expenses to include certain costs related to the maintenance of the old residence and other incidental costs related to a move to a new location.

As the Department of Finance is responsible for tax policy, it was therefore appropriate that you wrote to the Honourable Paul Martin, Minister of that department, in this regard.

I appreciate being made aware of your concerns.

		Your sincerely

		Bill McCloskey
		Assistant Deputy Minister
		Policy and Legislation Branch

David Duff
957-2058
September 24, 1998