Statement by the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue

OTTAWA, Dec. 4, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, made the following statement on the administration of the Disability Tax Credit:

"Living with a disability can have significant impacts on individuals and their families. That is why our government is always committed to improving our processes to ensure that all Canadians who are eligible to the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) receive it. To that end, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been engaging stakeholders on the DTC as recently as last week. In addition, on November 23 the Agency announced that it is re-instating the Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) which will work to improve the CRA's administration of all measures for persons with disabilities to ensure it acts in a fair, transparent and accessible way under the provisions of the Income Tax Act. The DAC will discuss these important questions as early as January 2018.

The email referenced by Diabetes Canada and JDRF indicated an update to communications related to Life-Sustaining Therapy. However, no change has been made to the eligibility criteria for this credit, nor has a change been made to the criteria laid out in the legislation. Every file is examined on a case by case basis with the facts provided in the application forms of the individual and their medical practitioner. The CRA does not have a target rate for approvals or denials of the DTC.

There are different recourses available to people who disagree with the CRA's decision. They can ask the CRA to review their application and send more medical information to support their application or send a new application. There is also a formal appeals process available to taxpayers if they disagree with the CRA's decision on a DTC application.

Our government recognizes that diabetes has a significant and lifelong impact on individuals and families. In 2015-16 alone, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research invested over $41 million in diabetes research. The Government also supports healthy living programs to prevent diabetes, including healthy eating, physical activity, and smoking cessation."

On the DTC:

The CRA receives an average of 250,000 applications for the DTC each year. More than 80 per cent of these applications are approved. Some 770,000 individuals claimed the DTC on their income tax returns in 2016-17.  This represents more than $1.3 billion in tax relief. We expect this number to increase this year.

Related links:

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/2017/11/disability_advisorycommittee.html

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SOURCE Canada Revenue Agency