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.
Principal Issues: Request that bus tickets be made eligible for public transit tax credit.
Position: Taxpayer referred to Finance.
Reasons: Finance is responsible for amendments to the Act.
August 8, 2007
XXXXXXXXXX
Dear Colleague:
Thank you for your letter received on June 19, 2007, regarding your constituents' requests that daily bus tickets be eligible for the public transit pass credit.
To qualify for the credit, a taxpayer must have purchased an "eligible public transit pass," which term is defined in subsection 118.02(1) of the Income Tax Act. An eligible public transit pass is a document that provides an individual with the right to use the public commuter transit services of a qualified Canadian transit organization on an unlimited number of occasions and on any day on which the public commuter transit services are offered during an uninterrupted period of at least 28 days.
The 2007 Federal Budget proposed changes to the rules for determining which passes will qualify for the credit. One of the changes will be to extend eligibility to electronic payment cards. Specifically, the 2007 Budget proposes to allow a tax credit for certain cost-per-trip electronic payment cards, beginning in 2007, provided that they are used for at least 32 one-way trips during a month. The other proposal relates to weekly passes. A weekly pass will be eligible when this pass entitles the holder to unlimited transit use for between five and seven days and when the user buys at least four consecutive weekly passes in a 28-day period. Bus tickets do not meet the requirements of the existing legislation or the proposed changes.
Although the Canada Revenue Agency is responsible for administering the tax system and applying the current tax legislation as enacted by Parliament, the Department of Finance Canada is responsible for developing tax policy and amending legislation. Any changes to the law would have to be considered by the Minister of Finance and approved by Parliament. I am therefore forwarding a copy of your correspondence to the Honourable James M. Flaherty, Minister of Finance, for his consideration.
I trust that the information I have provided and the referral will be helpful.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Carol Skelton, P.C., M.P.
c.c.: The Honourable James M. Flaherty, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Finance
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Renée Shields
(613) 957-2049
2007-024382
June 20, 2007
All rights reserved. Permission is granted to electronically copy and to print in hard copy for internal use only. No part of this information may be reproduced, modified, transmitted or redistributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system for any purpose other than noted above (including sales), without prior written permission of Canada Revenue Agency, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2007
Tous droits réservés. Il est permis de copier sous forme électronique ou d'imprimer pour un usage interne seulement. Toutefois, il est interdit de reproduire, de modifier, de transmettre ou de redistributer de l'information, sous quelque forme ou par quelque moyen que ce soit, de facon électronique, méchanique, photocopies ou autre, ou par stockage dans des systèmes d'extraction ou pour tout usage autre que ceux susmentionnés (incluant pour fin commerciale), sans l'autorisation écrite préalable de l'Agence du revenu du Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5.
© Sa Majesté la Reine du Chef du Canada, 2007
Email this Content