Federal Budget: Capital Gain for Culture - Capital Gains Tax Removed from Gifts of Publicly Traded Securities

May 3, 2006 (Toronto, ON)

The Federal Budget, brought down by the Conservative government yesterday, contains an important, and long awaited benefit, for Canada's cultural and charitable sectors: the removal of the final 50% capital gains tax on gifts of publicly traded securities.

In 1997 the then Liberal government removed 50% of this tax. This immediately triggered gifts totaling just under $1 billion to Canadian charities. It is anticipated that this removal of the other 50%, proposed in yesterday's budget, will create an even greater number of gifts and total dollar impact for charities and communities across Canada.

The Council for Business and the Arts (CBAC) has been an advocate to the Federal government on this issue for almost ten years, led by then Chair and now Chairman Emeritus Don Johnson. Mr. Johnson has pursued this tax benefit for charities relentlessly for all of these years spearheading public awareness and action through newspaper ads, articles and personal letter writing campaigns. During the recent election Mr. Johnson and representatives from many charities secured commitments from all four Federal parties to support this change to tax legislation but it was not final until yesterday's announcement.

It is estimated that the immediate benefit over the next few years will be in the area of $2 billion to all areas of the charitable sector, much of it having been held in abeyance in anticipation of this legislation. The cultural sector has a major opportunity - large and small organizations alike - to capitalize on this important and potentially very powerful facet of private donor support.

The Council for Business and the Arts in Canada is a national, member-based organization whose mandate it is to increase the quality and quantity of working relationships between business and Canada's cultural community. CBAC is pleased to have worked with other charities across the country to effect this change and, most particularly, congratulates Mr. Johnson on his personal effort and this major success.

For more information call:

Billie Bridgman
(416) 869-3016 x224
b_bridgman@businessforarts.org