Abstract
A clear income gradient exists for the sport and physical activity (PA) participation of Canadian children. Governments in Canada recently introduced tax credits to alleviate the financial burden associated with registering a child in organized physical activity (including sport). The majority of these credits, including the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, are non-refundable (i.e., reduces the amount of income tax a person pays). Such credits are useful only for individuals who incur a certain level of tax liability. Thus, low-income families who may pay little or no income tax will not benefit from the presence of non-refundable tax credits. In this commentary, we argue that the non-refundable tax credit is inherently inequitable for promoting PA. We suggest that a combination of refundable tax credits and subsidized programming for low-income children would be more equitable than the current approach of the Canadian government and several provinces that are expending approximately $200 million to support these credits.
Key words: Taxes, policy, child, adolescent, exercise, sports
Résumé
Il existe clairement un gradient du revenu et de la pratique des sports et de l’activité physique chez les enfants canadiens. Différents ordres de gouvernement au Canada ont instauré récemment des crédits d’impôt pour alléger le fardeau financier associé à l’inscription d’un enfant à une activité physique organisée (y compris un sport). La majorité de ces crédits, dont le Crédit d’impôt pour la condition physique des enfants, sont non remboursables (c.-à-d. qu’ils réduisent l’impôt sur le revenu payé par un contribuable). Ces crédits ne sont utilisables qu’à partir d’un certain niveau d’imposition. Les familles à faible revenu, qui paient peu ou pas d’impôt, n’en profitent donc pas. Dans ce commentaire, nous faisons valoir que le crédit d’impôt non remboursable est inéquitable en soi pour ce qui est de promouvoir l’activité physique. Nous sommes d’avis qu’une combinaison de crédits d’impôt remboursables et de programmes subventionnés pour les enfants de familles à faible revenu serait plus équitable que la méthode actuelle du gouvernement canadien et de plusieurs provinces, qui dépensent environ 200 millions de dollars pour ces crédits.
Mots clés: taxe, politique, enfant, adolescent, exercice physique, sports
Footnotes
Acknowledgement: Dr. Timothy Caulfield is a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy.
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
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