Mr. Speaker, the Department of Finance Canada has estimated the cost of Bill C-463 using the public use micro-data files of Statistics Canada’s 2010 travel survey of residents of Canada. The data contain information on the number of non-business person-trips taken across three provincial boundaries by mode of transportation, as well as information on travel expenditures.
Using these data, the Department of Finance’s cost estimate for the proposal in Bill C-463 was based on the following information for bus, train and airplane modes of transportation: the estimated number of domestic travellers whose travel expenses would qualify for the deduction proposed in Bill C-463; the estimated cost of domestic travel, which was estimated for 2017 using projections of the Consumer Price Index; the average marginal federal personal income tax rate; and the percentage of expenses eligible for the deduction as proposed in Bill C-463.
As indicated in the response to Question No. Q-1125, these calculations result in an estimated cost for the proposal in Bill C-463 of about $215 million in 2017. It is unclear to what degree the proposal would induce individuals to travel more or change their travel plans, but any increase in eligible travel would increase this cost.