TIME TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD

In Canada, corporations with enormous financial resources benefit from government loans, subsidies and tax rebates.

Corporations

Canadian corporations have no limits on their public policy activity. Everything they spend on public campaigns to affect public policies or laws is 100 per cent deductible from their gross income, thus reducing the tax they pay to the government and representing a significant subsidy to their public policy work by all of us.

Citizens

In contrast, charities representing citizens are strictly limited on what they can and cannot say and how much they can spend to voice the concerns of Canadians on public policy. And when citizens give to a charity they receive a much smaller tax deduction.

This makes no sense and isn’t fair. Corporations should not receive preferential treatment over regular Canadians on issues that impact Canadians’ daily lives. New legislation for charities must enhance the ability of citizens to participate in public policy development through the charities they support.