Page 42 - GBC summer 2016

Michael Hatch
Michael is a Vice President for Impact Public Affairs, specializing in financial policy and economics. Contact Michael at mhatch@ impactcanada.com or 613-233-8906.
There is a new government in Ottawa with a new set of policy priorities. They presented their first budget in the spring, which outlines the areas of focus for the next four years of the Trudeau government.
The
In broad terms, spending has come back to Ottawa and the federal government plans significant fiscal deficits for the foreseeable future. They have major plans to boost infrastructure, deliver tax relief to middle-income earners, boost funding for Aboriginals, and launch a new and redesigned child benefit program, among others.
However, this tide of new spending from Ottawa does not mean every single advocacy group got what they wanted out of the 2016 Budget. Despite a $30 billion deficit, demands on tax dollars still outnumber resources by a large margin. Specifically of interest to Canada’s $14 billion golf industry, the longstanding request for tax fairness was not met in this year’s federal budget.
The government’s maiden bud- get was filled almost exclusively with items the Liberals ran on in the recent election campaign, which left little room for specific recommen- dations such as the one promoted by the National Allied Golf Associations (NAGA) since 2011. The current goal is to push the federal government to restore tax fairness for Canada’s golf industry next year, in its 2017 fiscal plan.
Time Is Now
NAGA Advocacy
Update
ADVOCATING FOR TAX FAIRNESS
NAGA has been advocating for tax fairness for more than five years now, and needs industry players across the country to come together to help the cause by participating in its renewed grassroots advocacy effort.
Currently, due to a 1971 tax reform at the federal level, businesses are unable to claim golf-related expenses for client entertainment purposes against corporate income. This, despite the fact that other, and less effective, forms of client entertainment such as concerts and sporting events qualify for a 50 percent deduction from income.
42 Golf Business Canada