ISAC recently submitted recommendations to the Department of Finance Canada in response to its consultation on proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act, focusing on proposed legislative changes to the Disability Tax Credit (DTC).
The DTC is a non-refundable tax credit designed to help offset some of the additional costs associated with disability. But the importance of the DTC goes beyond the tax credit itself.
For people living on low incomes, the DTC is a gateway to other federal benefits such as the Canada Disability Benefit.
The proposed changes are a step in the right direction and will make a meaningful difference for persons with disabilities. However, major barriers remain. In the submission, ISAC recommended four further changes to the legislation.
ISAC’s Recommendations for Improving the DTC
1. Add registered nurses and registered social workers as certifying practitioners
The DTC application process requires information from an authorized medical practitioner. But not everyone has easy access to a doctor or nurse practitioner. Allowing them to certify impairments within their areas of practice would give people more options and could reduce delays and unnecessary barriers.
2. Recognize disability determinations that have already been made
Many people with disabilities have already gone through detailed assessments for other government programs, such as provincial disability benefits or the Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefit. It does not make sense to make people start from scratch every time they apply for another disability-related benefit. The government should recognize existing disability determinations and reduce paperwork, administrative barriers and delays.
3. Allow supported decision-making
Some people need help understanding forms, communicating with government, or navigating complicated benefit systems. Needing that support should not mean that a person needs a guardian or has to give up control over their decisions.
The legislation should allow supported decision-making, so people can get assistance while maintaining their legal autonomy. People should be able to get help accessing benefits without having to go through costly and restrictive guardianship processes. This is especially important for people living on low incomes, who may not have the resources to pursue formal guardianship.
4. Move away from a rigid 90% approach
Disabilities do not always affect people in the same way every day. Some disabilities are invisible, fluctuating or unpredictable. The CRA’s rigid approach incorrectly treats “all or substantially all of the time” as 90% or more, despite concerns raised by Canadian courts.
The government should replace “all or substantially all of the time” with the “significantly more than a majority of the time” to reduce barriers.
Read the full submission by scrolling through the document below, or by clicking here (PDF).