Bill 91 2001

An act to amend the
Income Tax Act and the
Intercountry Adoption Act, 1998

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Income Tax Act

1. Section 8 of the Income Tax Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1992, chapter 18, section 55, 1992, chapter 25, section 3, 1993, chapter 29, section 6, 1994, chapter 17, section 99, 1996, chapter 1, Schedule C, section 8, 1996, chapter 24, section 13, 1996, chapter 29, section 9, 1997, chapter 19, section 9, 1997, chapter 43, Schedule B, section 4, 1998, chapter 5, section 3, 1998, chapter 9, section 81, 1998, chapter 34, section 69, 1999, chapter 9, section 120 and 2000, chapter 42, section 55, is further amended by adding the following subsections:

Intercountry adoption tax credit

(9.4) An individual who is resident in Ontario on December 31 of a taxation year and who paid an adoption fee may deduct from the amount of tax otherwise payable under this Act for the year an amount not exceeding the amount determined under subsection (9.5).

Amount of tax credit

(9.5) The amount of the intercountry adoption tax credit for a taxation year is the lesser of,

(a) the amount of tax payable for the year before the deduction of any amount to which the taxpayer is entitled under subsection (3), (3.1), (4), (8.1), (9), (15), (15.1) or (15.3); and

(b) the amount by which the total of all adoption fees paid by the individual before the end of the taxation year exceeds the total of all intercountry adoption tax credits deducted by the individual for prior tax years.

Receipt required

(9.6) An individual who claims a deduction under subsection (9.4) for a taxation year shall file in the annual return for the year all receipts issued under subsection 19 (2) of the Intercountry Adoption Act, 1998 that were not filed in an annual return for a prior taxation year.

Definition

(9.7) In subsections (9.4) to (9.6),

"adoption fee" means a fee for expenses mentioned in clause 19 (1) (c) of the Intercountry Adoption Act, 1998 that is prescribed under clause 24 (o) of that Act.

Intercountry Adoption Act, 1998

2. Section 19 of the Intercountry Adoption Act, 1998 is amended by adding the following subsection:

Receipt to be issued

(2) On receiving payment of a fee for expenses mentioned in clause (1) (c), the Director shall issue a receipt in a form approved by the Minister of Finance, stating the amount and date of the payment and containing such other information as the Minister of Finance may specify.

Commencement and Short Title

Commencement

3. This Act shall be deemed to have come into force on January 1, 2001.

Short title

4. The short title of this Act is the Income Tax Amendment Act (Intercountry Adoption Tax Credit), 2001.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends section 8 of the Income Tax Act to provide a tax credit for intercountry adoption fees. Intercountry adoption fees are those fees charged under the Intercountry Adoption Act, 1998. These fees represent charges for processing intercountry adoptions finalized outside Ontario.

The tax credit would be made available starting with the 2001 taxation year and applies to intercountry adoption fees paid by an individual. The amount of the tax credit is limited to the amount of tax payable for the year before the deduction of the refundable tax credits. Intercountry adoption fees paid before the taxation year may be included in the amount of the tax credit for the year to the extent the fees have not been included in the calculation of the tax credit for a prior year. Individuals are required to file a receipt issued under the Intercountry Adoption Act, 1998 with their annual returns to support the claim for the tax credit.

The Bill amends section 19 of the Intercountry Adoption Act, 1998 to require a receipt to be issued when intercountry adoption fees are paid.