P.E.I. matches federal disability tax credit

Last Updated: Thursday, August 16, 2007 | 8:12 AM AT
CBC News

The province will increase the disability tax credit, P.E.I. Treasurer Wes Sheridan announced Wednesday, but an advocacy group says changes to the tax system won’t help most Islanders with disabilities.

‘The majority of Islanders with disabilities don’t have a taxable income.’
— Barry Schmidl, Council of the Disabled

The maximum provincial disability tax credit will increase from $5,400 to $6,800, matching the federal credit.

“These are just the first of many changes that we will be making in future budgets that will look at tax fairness for all Islanders,” said Sheridan.

Barry Schmidl, executive director of the P.E.I. Council of the Disabled, calls the increase a positive step, but said it will help relatively few Islanders.

“The only problem is, the disability tax credit … isn’t actually useful for most people with disabilities, because the majority of Islanders with disabilities don’t have a taxable income,” said Schmidl.

The changes to the disability tax credit have been approved for the current tax year.