Madam Speaker, first let me thank all hon. members on both sides of the House for debating this private member's bill. They brought forward many important points, one being that it is about societal values and the volunteer base of this country. We all come from communities where if it were not for the volunteer sector, not much would probably happen.
My colleague from Cypress Hills—Grasslands brought forward the important point that perhaps there needs to be a new set of standards. If the rules are to be changed, it is a good idea. We all need scrutiny. Audit requirements are probably a sensible approach.
In my brief closing comments, I would like to make some key points to tell the House why this bill should have been made votable.
It is the optics of our society, of equality in this country. Politicians really should not get the edge on the average Canadian, at least that is the optics out there.
The charitable donation of $1,150 or less should be put on an equal footing with political donations. The first $200 donated to charities results in a tax credit of 17% of that amount. Anything over $200 donated to a charity results in a tax credit of 29% of the amount. The maximum tax creditable amount is 50% of the filer's income.
The first $100 of a political donation results in a 75% tax credit. The next $450 results in an additional 50% tax credit. The next $600 results in an additional tax credit of one-third of the amount donated. The maximum tax creditable amount is $1,150 which results in a tax credit of $500.
In 1993 the average charitable donation claim was $626. Subject to standard rules, the tax credit was $158. As a political donation, $626 resulted in a tax credit of $325. That is a difference of $168. Again, as was indicated by previous speakers and myself, there is a discrepancy in our tax credit system.
What are the revenue implications? According to the reference branch of the Library of Parliament, these are difficult to nail down at this time. Estimates are that under present levels of donations this would probably result in the government taking in about $800 million or less. Perhaps we could just deem this as a tax break. As we all know, money in the pockets of the citizens of this country is certainly better than in the hands of politicians.
In summary, the key reason for the uncertainty on revenue is that increasing the tax credit for charitable donations could encourage people to give more to charities. At a time when governments are able to do less, and we all agree on that, I think we should encourage increased giving to charities. It is unfortunate that with the tax breaks political organizations currently get, it appears that people in this country still do not take an interest in politics.
I thank the members of this House for speaking to this bill.