As reported earlier on the GO2 site, a three-member committee was established to clarify the parameters around the proposed Children’s Fitness Tax Credit - a credit of up to $500 of eligible fee's per child per year that a parent could claim. This committee, paid a salary of $1 for each member, sought advice throughout Canada to hear what other specialists and concerned Canadians wanted, and created a recommendation report to determine how the tax credit should be used.
Today that report was submitted to the Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty. The committee made several recommendations on what should and should not be eligible, clearly defining what a ‘physical activity program’ is, adding a component to include children with disabilities, and so on.
A key recommendation in the report was a change to the definition of what an “eligible physical activity program is. The new definition would be as follows:
An ongoing program, suitable for children, in which substantially all of the activities undertaken include a significant amount of physical activity that contributes to cardio-respiratory endurance, plus one or more of:
- Muscular strength,
- Muscular endurance,
- Flexibility, and
- Balance.
To better understand the above statement, the committee defined some of the key words.
- Ongoing program – minimum of one session per week for 8 weeks for programs or a minimum of one week (five consecutive days) in the case of camps.
- Suitable for children – must be physically safe and not put children at risk
- In which substantially all – 90% or more, as defined by Canada’s Revenue Agency.
- “Significant amount of physical activity” – to follow Canada’s Physical Activity Guide for Children and Youth:
- A minimum of minimum of 30 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous physical activity forchildren under ten.
- A minimum of 60 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous physical activity for children ten and over.
Concerning children with disabilities, the committee recommended that all of the activities deemed eligible for able-bodied children would automatically be eligible for children with disabilities, even if that child can not fully participate. The committee also is looking to increase the tax credit to $1000 for children with disabilities, in order to help cover transportation and special equipment costs, as well as raising the eligible age limit for this group to 21.
Among some of the other things included in the report:Eligible | Not Eligible |
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The full report can be found here:
