This enactment amends the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act in order to ensure that persons with disabilities do not lose more through taxation and the reduction of benefits than they gain as a result of working.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Additional criteria for eligibility — Canada Social Transfer

(3) In addition to meeting the criteria set out in subsection (1), a province must, in collaboration with the federal government, ensure that the amount lost by persons with disabilities resident in that province through taxation and the reduction of benefits in a fiscal year does not exceed their employment income in respect of each $1,000 portion of employment income that is less than $30,000.

Determination

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the Minister of Finance shall determine for every fiscal year and every province the amount lost by persons with disabilities through taxation and the reduction of benefits, using only information that is publicly available, on the basis of

• (a) federal and provincial personal income taxes;

• (b) payroll taxes; and

• (c) the value of benefits that persons with disabilities would have received, whether in money or in kind, if those benefits had not been totally or partially reduced on the basis of their employment income.

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Circumstances

(5) The determination of the amount lost through taxation and the reduction of benefits is made in respect of the various circumstances of persons with disabilities, including the severity of their disability, their number of dependants, their marital status and any other circumstances that the Minister of Finance considers relevant.

Consideration

(6) If, for a province in a fiscal year, the amount lost by persons with disabilities through taxation and the reduction of benefits exceeds their employment income in respect of any of the circumstances referred to in subsection (5), the Minister of Finance shall identify and consider changes that could be made to federal taxation and benefits in order to reduce that amount.

Disclosure

(7) The Minister of Finance shall publish the results of the determinations on the website of the Department of Finance within 30 days after the determinations are completed.

Definitions

(8) The following definitions apply in this section.

employment income means the salary, wages and other remuneration, including gratuities, received by a person in a taxation year from an office or an employment. (revenu d’emploi)

person with disabilities means a person who qualifies for benefits under a federal or provincial program, including tax credits, by reason of disability. (personne handicapée)