On Parliament Hill

Thursday October 30th, 2014 was an historic day for families across Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced substantial tax cuts for families and I wanted to share with you this great news.

How do you know if these new benefits affect you? If you answer yes to the following questions, you may be one of the millions of Canadians who benefit from this new and unprecedented tax relief.

Do you have a family?

We introduced a new Family Tax Cut which offers families similar benefits as income splitting provides for seniors. The new Family Tax Cut will allow the higher-earning parent to, in effect, transfer taxable income to the other parent who is in a lower tax bracket, up to a maximum benefit of $2,000. This will enhance fairness by treating families with the same overall incomes in a comparable way

Do you have children under the age of 6?

In 2006 we announced the universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) which has been wildly popular with Canadian families. Now we are expanding that with last week’s announcement. The UCCB benefit will now be increasing to $160 per month per child under the age of six, or $1,920 per year.

Do you have children under the age of 7?

We will increase the Child Care Expense Deduction dollar limits to $8,000 from $7,000 per child under age seven. This is the initiative that allows child care expenses to be deducted from taxable income if the child care is due to the parent working, going to school or performing research.

Do you have children aged 6-17?

Through the UCCB we’re also delivering a new benefit of $60 per month, or $720 per year, per child aged six through seventeen. About four million families are expected to benefit from the enhancements to the UCCB. We will also increase the Child Care Expense Deduction to $5,000 from $4,000 for each child aged seven to sixteen (and infirm dependent children over age sixteen).

Does your child qualify for the Disability Tax Credit?

The Child Care Expense Deduction limits will be increased to $11,000 from $10,000 for children who are eligible for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC). (View more information on the DTC)

Are your children enrolled in sports or other physical activities?

Our Government has previously announced the doubling of Children’s Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC). The amount parents can claim for enrolling their children in sports activities is now $1000! As of the 2015 tax year, the credit will be refundable, increasing the benefit for low-income families who claim it that year and subsequent years.

I am pleased that our Conservative Government continues to stand up for families by building on our strong record of significant tax relief. In fact, we’ve cut taxes over 160 times saving the average family $3,400 every year, prior to our recent tax cut announcements.

This is a record that we’re pleased many Canadian families have benefited from. For example, almost a million and a half families have taken advantage of the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit. And approximately 1.7 million families with young children receive the Universal Child Care Benefit.