I want to speak to Ms. Pearson from Philanthropic Foundations Canada. I am very supportive of the stretch tax credit. Yesterday I flew in with the head of the Arthritis Society, Steve McNair by name, and we talked quite a bit about the challenges facing the charitable sector. I think the move within philanthropic giving and strategies supports this idea.
I have a question, though, with regard to communicating this to those who probably aren't accustomed to giving. There's a little bit of complication to it. On top of that, under the Income Tax Act, one or the other spouse can take the credit for both, and as you can see there may be the opportunity for a double benefit by one, depending whether they manage their affairs properly: with one claiming all of the deductions or credits in one year, there might be a double bump, for a family as opposed to a single giver.
Is there any way to deal with that? Could you explain to the committee why it wouldn't have been just as simple to enhance the credit itself totally, other than the reason that it would encourage new giving?