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61 Can. Tax J. 1091 (2013)
The First-Time Donor Credit - Sound Policy or Short-Term Fix

handle is hein.journals/cdntj61 and id is 1201 raw text is: CANADIAN TAX JOURNAL / REVUE FISCALE CANADIENNE (2013) 61:4, 1091-1101 Policy Forum: The First-Time Donor Credit- Sound Policy or Short-Term Fix? A. Abigail Payne* KEYWORDS: TAX CREDITS m CHARITABLE DONATIONS m INCENTIVES m CHARITIESm TAX POLICY CONTENTS Introduction 1091 The First-Time Donor Credit 1092 The Government's Role in the Charitable Sector-Policy Considerations 1093 Assessment of the FTDC as a Policy Response 1095 Supporting Evidence 1o96 Incentive Versus Subsidy 1097 Sustainable Financial Support for the Charitable Sector 1099 Conclusion 1101 INTRODUCTION You shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. This is the saying that popped into my head when I began looking at commentary on the federal government's an- nouncement of a super tax credit for first-time reporting of tax-receipted gifts to charities.' With the exception of one lukewarm response, all the comments came across as either positive or, in the words of Dragnet's Joe Friday, a reporting of just the facts, ma'am. And if the federal government is willing to offer some of its rev- enues as a tax incentive to encourage more giving to charity, why wouldn't we be positive about the announcement? The perspective I take in this article is to consider whether the super tax credit is a sufficient remedy for the issue that the government is seeking to address. Drawing on testimony and written submissions to the Stand- ing Committee on Finance in its hearings on tax incentives for charitable giving, the Of the Faculty of Social Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario (e-mail: paynea@ mcmaster.ca) 1 Canada, Department of Finance, 2013 Budget, Budget Plan, March 21, 2013, at 236-39; see also annex 2, Tax Measures: Supplementary Information and Notice of Ways and Means Motions-Tax Measures: Supplementary Information, at 333-34, and Notice of Ways and Means Motion To Amend the Income Tax Act and Other Tax Legislation, resolution (2). 1091