Tax deduction for transit
Finally, a good idea!.....
Tax deduction for transit? Maybe
Ontario considers Conservative bill to give tax credit for public transit fares
CANADIAN PRESS
The Ontario legislature gave approval in principle today to a private member's bill that would give commuters a tax deduction for public transit fares, with members of all three parties calling it a good idea.
"I ask the members of the House to look at this as a non-partisan initiative to make public transit affordable for their constituents," said Conservative John O'Toole as he kicked off second reading debate on his legislation.
"This bill here is an opportunity for the government to ease the tax burden in Ontario, while addressing the issues of gridlock and quality of life."
O'Toole wants to amend the province's Income Tax Act to give public transit riders a 50-per-cent deduction for the cost of bus, train and subway fares.
He said getting more people to use public transit would mean fewer cars and trucks on the roads, resulting in better air quality, fewer pollution-related health problems, and shorter commute times for everyone.
"It's not a bad way of dealing with the end-users so that they're not put in a position where it becomes very expensive to get to work," New Democrat Gilles Bisson told the legislature.
"I think we need to find ways of being innovative."
"We do need to improve public transit, and I think an initiative like this points in that direction," said Liberal Jennifer Mossop.
"It's a good idea."
Liberal Jean-Marc Lalonde was the only one to speak against the idea today, saying the bill would benefit only big-city commuters because it covers only public transit systems owned by the province, a municipality or a transit commission.
Lalonde said the tax credit wouldn't help the many rural communities in Ontario that are served by private bus companies.
"This wouldn't be fair for those people," he told the legislature.
Private member's bills rarely become law, but O'Toole said he was encouraged by the support his legislation received during second reading debate.
"I was very, very impressed that there was more or less unanimous support for the bill," he said.
O'Toole said it costs him about $100 a week to commute from his home in Oshawa, east of Toronto, to his downtown office at the legislature, and he believes many more people would leave their cars at home if they had a better financial incentive to take public transit.
"The bottom line is that is sounds like a good idea," said Danna O'Brien, spokeswoman for Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar.
"But you've got to weigh the costs and the benefits."
O'Brien said Ontario was already working with the federal government to secure a tax exemption for employer-provided transit passes, something the Liberals promised in the 2003 election campaign.
O'Toole's bill will be sent to the legislature's finance committee, where he hopes it will spur the Liberals to adopt it as their own legislation, and "allow for the government to initiate a whole new era of funding public transit."
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