Canadian taxpayers now know what it will cost the Harper government to make good on a tax break it promised during the 2011 federal election campaign thanks to Conservative MP Royal Galipeau.
The Harper government promised to introduce a handful of tax goodies once it balanced the books, including a fitness tax credit worth up to $75 for adults who enrol in eligible fitness programs.
Galipeau asked the parliamentary budget officer to analyze how much it would cost the federal government to introduce such a tax break.
But reached by telephone in his office on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, Galipeau who answered the phone, said he was surprised to learn that the PBO report had been made public.
The Conservative MP said he would not have made that request with the PBO had he known his request was not confidential.
"I would have found another way to get at the information," Galipeau said.
While the Library of Parliament can provide customized research and analysis to parliamentarians and their staff on a confidential basis, requests for independent analysis by the PBO are made public.
Presumably, Galipeau would have known that from the terms of reference outlined by the PBO upon the Conservative member's request.
"The final report would be presented and reviewed with the Member and subsequently be posted on the PBO website," the PBO said in its terms of reference adding that, "publication of the final report on the PBO's web site would be performed with the concurrence of the Member."
Today, the Office of the parliamentary budget officer released its findings following Galipeau's request. The PBO found that an adult fitness tax break would cost the government between $15 million and $47 million a year, up to a maximum cost of $268 million over five years.
Galipeau requested that the PBO look at what it would cost to extend the tax credit to adults over 55 years of age.
Asked by CBC News why he made the request in the first place, Galipeau said he was considering making a proposal to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty ahead of the next federal budget.
Galipeau said he wants to recommend that Flaherty also introduce a "fitness tax credit for seniors."
To that end, the report found that 41.8 per cent of adults eligible to claim such a credit would actually do so.
It also found that if an adult fitness tax credit were implemented today, that between $2.2 and $5.6 million of the $15 million to $47 million in total cost would go towards inciting adults aged 55 years of age or older to take up some sort of fitness activity.
In other words, only a fraction of the total cost of implementing the tax credit would result in adults engaging in some fitness activity for the first time, or in increasing their current level of activity.
The rest of the total cost of implementing the tax credit would benefit taxpayers that are already currently engaged in some form of fitness program.
The report noted that the cost estimate doesn't include any incremental costs related to administering the programs.
Galipeau said this was not the first time he had asked the PBO to give him a cost estimate for introducing a fitness tax credit for adults.
The Conservative MP said he made the same request in 2010 but said that his request was denied by then parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page.
In an email to CBC News, Page said "with great respect to Mr. Galipeau, PBO did not turn down his request to cost an adult fitness tax credit."
Rather Galipeau withdrew his request after the PBO told him it would take the office an average of three months to complete the analysis.
"Mr. Galipeau did not like the timeline so he instructed PBO not to do this analysis. This is also okay because PBO has limited resources. All the electronic exchanges to this effect are available at PBO," Page told CBC News.
Galipeau resubmitted his request this spring, resulting in today's report by the PBO.
The Conservative MP said seniors in his riding of Ottawa-Orleans have approached him about such a fitness tax credit, after seeing the federal government introduce the Children's Fitness Tax Credit and the Children's Arts Tax Credit.
Galipeau said he was simply looking for information that would bolster his recommendation to Flaherty.
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