Tax season is upon us.
If you havenSA国际影视传媒檛 filed yours already, you may wish to take a gander at our story this week providing some tips on areas you can claim to reduce your burden.
Revenue Canada is being proactive this year SA国际影视传媒� the agency reached out to Inuvik Drum specifically to talk about tax credits tailored to Northerners, as well as to ensure people are aware of the latest scams.
While we were speaking, I pressed their spokesperson on credits other than the better known Northern ones SA国际影视传媒� that being the Northern residency and travel tax credits SA国际影视传媒� that could benefit Northerners, notably expenses incurred by home-based businesses, of which there are many here in Inuvik and I suspect across the NWT. These types of operations are likely on the rise in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has made working from home considerably more desirable and accessible.
A tenacious taxpayer can find a lot of loopholes to reduce their bill or increase their return, if theySA国际影视传媒檙e organized throughout the year and keep receipts. Fuel costs for work and business can be claimed. Supplies for work and business can be claimed. Heck, if your businesses loses money, regardless of whether itSA国际影视传媒檚 something outside your control like climate change or a pandemic or you just happen to be lousy at running a company, you can claim that. You can also claim moving expenses, union dues, art supplies SA国际影视传媒� members of the clergy can even claim their residence costs.
You can claim up to 75 per cent of your income in charitable donations. You can even submit for up to $675 for a donation of $1,200 or more to a political party or politician SA国际影视传媒� because, of course, they donSA国际影视传媒檛 have enough money already.
ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 even a tax credit for journalists belonging to a registered media organization, something I wish I knew two weeks ago when I filed my tax return.
One area thatSA国际影视传媒檚 notably absent, particularly when you talk about Northerners and their lifestyles compared to the rest of the country, is harvesting expenses. Ottawa could really help a lot of Northerners by offering a tax credit for expenses incurred related to hunting and gathering off the land.
In most of Canada, hunting amounts to a hobby SA国际影视传媒� one largely limited to the upper-middle classes who can afford the deep freeze, a versatile truck and the firepower needed to bring something down and eat it. Here in the North, itSA国际影视传媒檚 the lifeline for communities SA国际影视传媒� an expensive lifeline.
An absence of roads means hunters must rely on smaller vehicles like snowmobiles and ATVs to get to where the quarry is. A hunting excursion can last several days or longer, so that requires heating fuel, food and water during the trip, along with other basic needs. Beluga harvesting camps are basically temporary mini-communities where people travel by boat to specific locations and stay there for extended periods. Even picking berries requires a significant amount of travel to do properly. All this to bring food to your family and neighboursSA国际影视传媒� tables.
This is all fuelled by money coming out of NorthernersSA国际影视传媒� pockets to maintain their traditional lifestyle. If this was elsewhere in the country, you could bet there would be an effort to make it tax exempt in some way. You wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 know it from listening to them complain, but farmers, for example, can claim a chunk of their fuel costs. Why not hunters in a prescribed zone? TheySA国际影视传媒檙e basically doing the same thing, i.e. feeding the community. Most, if not all, hunters we profile in Inuvik Drum share their harvest with those unable to hunt on their own SA国际影视传媒� this is not a selfish act of machismo or sport, this is a public service.
Canada should introduce a Northern harvesting benefit and allow hunters and gatherers to recoup their expenses. With climate change disrupting supply chains and driving up the cost of living, which is further amplified by our infrastructure deficit here in the North, maintaining the status quo is becoming increasingly difficult. Presenting Northerners with an additional way to continue their lifestyle without breaking the bank would have far-reaching benefits.
One of the biggest benefits is that it would help keep people hunting. Making harvesting expeditions more affordable means more people will go on them, which means more young people on the land instead of on the streets. That translates into greater food security for communities, especially if they can reinvest the saved income into other infrastructure. It could also help counter the trend of addictions in the North by giving more opportunities for young Northerners to connect with their culture and learning a valuable skill to help them contribute to their community.
And these benefits could manifest themselves fairly quickly. As previously mentioned in this space, since the carbon tax came into force in 2019, CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 greenhouse gas emissions have dropped eight per cent SA国际影视传媒� thatSA国际影视传媒檚 in five years. In spite of all the bellyaching from people who canSA国际影视传媒檛 be bothered to turn off their vehicles when not in motion, it is actually accomplishing its intended purpose.
So letSA国际影视传媒檚 apply that same logic in the opposite direction for hunting. WeSA国际影视传媒檒l not only save our harvesters money, we could be giving our young adults a means to self-actualization and helping to preserve Northern culture.
