Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members.
My name is Teri Kirk, and I am Vice-President for Public Policy and Government Relations at Imagine Canada.
Imagine Canada is the largest intermediary organization working in what is sometimes called the community non-profit sector and sometimes called the voluntary or charitable sector. The sector is larger and more diverse than often people realize. There are about 160,000 incorporated non-profit organizations in Canada, of which about half are registered charities. There are about 750,000 unincorporated community non-profit organizations and about six and a half million volunteers in Canada.
We would like to comment today on subclauses (1) to (3) of clause 51 under part 2 of the bill, which are the provisions eliminating capital gains tax on gifts of listed stock and environmentally sensitive lands to registered charities. The sector is very supportive of these tax measures, which both supplement government financial support for the sector without the need to increase taxes and of course spur taxpayers' willingness to give. There have been some very high-profile examples in the media of the sort of giving that has been unleashed since these measures were announced.
When the capital gains tax was cut to 50% in 1997, Revenue Canada found that donations increased from $69 million a year to $200 million a year, about a threefold increase over a three-year period. It is anticipated that donations into the community non-profit sector will increase by about $250 million to $300 million per year as a result of the measure. It is therefore our recommendation that the provisions proceed.
There was provision in budget plan 2006 that if certain obstacles could be addressed, the measures would also be extended to private foundations. We are working in the sector to address those obstacles to ensure that private foundations can be included the next time around.
Thank you.