NDP Wants Golf Tax Credit for Big Business

Local MP Scott Reid speaks out against NDP bill that would let business executives write off their golf games.

Ottawa – Randall Garrison, an NDP MP from Vancouver Island is trying to change the tax laws so that big businesses can use golf expenses as a tax deduction.  Currently, theIncome Tax Act forbids companies from using golf, yacht, camp, or lodge fees as a business expense tax deduction.  NDP shadow cabinet member Randall Garrison wants to remove golf from that list.

 “I do not support this idea,” Scott Reid commented, “certainly not at a point in time when too many honest Canadians can’t even find a job, let alone a job that pays them to go golfing.”

 Meanwhile, the NDP voted against extending for another year the Job Creation Tax Credit for small businesses which has created thousands of jobs already and will create thousands more yet.

The Job Creation Tax Credit is available to small businesses in Canada to help them offset the costs of hiring a new employee as they grow.  First introduced as a limited one-year program in the 2011 Budget, it has been extended by one additional year by the Conservative government.

“I think that it’s obvious how out of touch the NDP have actually become,” stated Reid. “When we introduced and extended this tax credit that has created thousands of jobs and supported small businesses, the NDP opposed it.  But it is clear that they would prefer to make a new tax deduction for businesses so they can send CEOs out golfing with their buddies.”

This bill, C-397, was put forward earlier this year with the sponsoring NDP MP commenting to local media that, “There are 10 golf courses in my riding.”

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For further information contact:

Phil Joannou
Communications Assistant to Scott Reid, MP
613-947-2277

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