Bill S-217 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (carbon offset tax credit)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-217 adds a new non-refundable federal income tax credit for individuals who purchase carbon offsets through approved providers and projects, starting in 2009.
Bill S-217 proposes to amend the Income Tax Act to create a new non-refundable tax credit for individuals who purchase carbon offsets. The credit would allow individuals to deduct a percentage of their eligible carbon offset purchase expenses from their federal income tax. To qualify, the carbon offset purchases must be made to a Minister-designated "carbon offset provider" and must be invested in a Minister-approved "offset project" (a project that avoids, reduces, sequesters, displaces, or mitigates carbon dioxide emissions). The credit would apply starting in the 2009 taxation year. The bill also makes several technical amendments to other sections of the Income Tax Act to ensure the new carbon offset credit integrates properly with other tax credits and deductions, such as education credits and spousal credits. The bill does not specify the percentage rate that would apply to the credit or the criteria the Minister would use to approve projects or designate providers—these details would be set out in regulations.
- Creates a new non-refundable income tax credit (section 118.04) for individuals who pay money to designated carbon offset providers to invest in approved carbon offset projects
- Defines key terms: 'offset project' means a project that avoids, reduces, sequesters, displaces, or mitigates carbon dioxide emissions; 'approved offset project' means one approved by the Minister; 'carbon offset provider' means an entity designated by the Minister; 'eligible carbon offset purchase expense' means amounts paid to a designated provider for approved projects (excluding projects managed by related parties)
- The credit is calculated as a percentage (the 'appropriate percentage') multiplied by the total eligible expenses, with the percentage to be set by regulation
- Requires individuals to provide receipts to the Canada Revenue Agency to claim the credit
- Gives the Minister authority to approve offset projects or types of projects using prescribed regulatory criteria, and to designate carbon offset providers
- Allows the Minister to revoke approvals and designations in writing
- Makes the new credit available starting in the 2009 taxation year
- Makes technical amendments to 11 sections of the Income Tax Act (sections 118.61, 118.8, 118.81, 118.91, 118.92, 118.94, 118.95, 127.531, and 128) to integrate the new carbon offset credit with existing tax credits and deductions
- Individuals who make carbon offset purchases and file Canadian income tax returns
- Carbon offset providers and project managers that may be designated or approved by the Minister
- Individuals with spouses or common-law partners (due to technical amendments affecting spousal credit calculations)
- Individuals claiming education credits, tuition credits, or other personal tax credits (due to technical amendments coordinating the ordering and calculation of credits)
- Individuals have a right to claim the carbon offset tax credit if they have paid eligible expenses and file receipts with the Canada Revenue Agency
- To qualify for the credit, individuals must purchase carbon offsets only from a Minister-designated provider and invest only in Minister-approved offset projects
- Individuals cannot claim the credit for purchases from related parties (those with whom they do not deal 'at arm's length') or for projects managed, operated, or owned by related parties
- Individuals cannot claim the credit for amounts required to be paid under federal or provincial law
- The credit is 'non-refundable,' meaning it can reduce an individual's tax payable to zero but cannot result in a refund
- The Minister has the authority to set the percentage rate for the credit through regulation and to approve or designate providers and projects based on prescribed criteria
- The Minister can revoke approvals and designations by written notice
- The bill was first read in the Senate on November 27, 2008
- Section 118.04 (the new carbon offset credit) applies to the 2009 and subsequent taxation years
- Technical amendments (sections 2-10) apply to the 2009 and subsequent taxation years
- The credit reduces the amount of federal income tax an individual owes in a taxation year by a percentage of their eligible carbon offset purchase expenses
- The exact financial impact depends on the 'appropriate percentage' rate, which is not specified in the bill and will be determined by regulation
- As a non-refundable credit, it cannot result in a refund but can reduce tax payable to zero
- The credit interacts with other personal and tuition credits in a specific order as set out in section 118.92
- The bill does not explicitly set out penalties for misuse of the credit or false claims
- General Income Tax Act penalties and enforcement procedures would apply to fraudulent or incorrect claims
- The bill does not specify what the 'appropriate percentage' for the credit will be; this is to be set by regulation
- The bill does not specify what 'prescribed criteria' the Minister will use to approve offset projects; these are to be set by regulation
- The bill does not specify what factors the Minister will consider when designating carbon offset providers, stating only that they must be 'suitable to be so designated' in the Minister's opinion
- The bill does not provide details on what constitutes an 'offset project' beyond the broad definition (avoiding, reducing, sequesters, displacing, or mitigating carbon dioxide emissions)
- It is unclear what documentation or standards providers and projects must meet to be approved or designated
- The bill does not specify how disputes over the approval, revocation, or suitability of providers or projects would be resolved
Adds new section 118.04 creating a carbon offset tax credit for individuals; updates sections 118.61, 118.8, 118.81, 118.91, 118.92, 118.94, 118.95, 127.531, and 128 to include references to section 118.04 in various credit calculation formulas and ordering rules
Source: Section 1, and Sections 2-10
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Bill S-217, concerning a carbon offset tax credit, was introduced and received first reading in the Senate on November 27, 2008, as part of a broader Senate sitting.
On November 27, 2008, Bill S-217, an Act to amend the Income Tax Act regarding a carbon offset tax credit, received its first reading in the Senate. This procedural step means the bill was formally introduced and made available for consideration. The Senate sitting also included tributes to former senators and other notable individuals, discussions on international treaties, and questions and answers on various government policies and economic issues.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced