Transit Pass Tax Deduction in Next Budget?
Toronto Area blogger Andrew Spicer notes his e-mail correspondence with Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett about the Federal Government’s commitment to public transportation in the upcoming budget. Ms. Bennett raises the possibility that the next budget will make transit passes tax deductible.
This small but important measure could do much to alter the balance between the automobile and public transit in our cities. Our automobiles are subsidized in a number of ways: if an employer provides free parking to his employees, it costs the employee nothing in taxes, but if an employer provides free transit passes, that’s seen as a taxable benefit — like the employee is earning extra income, versus not having to pay to park his car.
In Ms. Bennett’s words: “Hopefully you’re going to see tax deductible transit passes in the next budget… …we passed it in the House…. so we sure hope it makes it into the budget !!! we’ll keep fighting.”
And so should we, by writing in support of this measure to our Members of Parliament and to the Minister of Finance.