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ABSTRACT
A clear income gradient exists for the sport and physical activity (PA) participation of Canadian children. Governments in Canada recently introduced tax credits to alleviate the financial burden associated with registering a child in organized physical activity (including sport). The majority of these credits, including the Children's Fitness Tax Credit, are non-refundable (i.e., reduces the amount of income tax a person pays). Such credits are useful only for individuals who incur a certain level of tax liability. Thus, low-income families who may pay little or no income tax will not benefit from the presence of non-refundable tax credits. In this commentary, we argue that the non-refundable tax credit is inherently inequitable for promoting PA. We suggest that a combination of refundable tax credits and subsidized programming for low-income children would be more equitable than the current approach of the Canadian government and several provinces that are expending approximately $200 million to support these credits.
Key words: Taxes; policy; child; adolescent; exercise; sports
La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article. Can J Public Health 2012;103(3):175-77.
Mots clés : taxe; politique; enfant; adolescent; exercice physique; sports
Canada is one among a few countries in the world to offer incentives, in the form of tax credits, to discount or subsidize the costs associated with registering a child in an organized physical activity (PA) program. These tax credits can be claimed at a federal level and in some provinces. In this article, we question the idea that a tax credit, especially a non-refundable one (i.e., reduces the amount of income tax a person pays), will support equitable access to PA opportunities for all Canadian children.
Canadian children from low-income families are more likely to be physically inactive and engage in sedentary pursuits compared to children from middle- and high-income families.1 Specifically, children from families reporting the lowest income take approximately 1,200 fewer steps per day than children from the highestincome families.1 Similarly, Canadian families in the lowest-income quartile are 2.5 times less likely to have enrolled their child in organized PA programs.2 Such findings led to the assignment of a 'failing grade' for the PA of Canadian children over the past six years in the Active Healthy Kids Canada report card. Specifically,...