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OntarioDid not become law (session ended)42nd Parliament, 2nd Session

Bill 120 explained in plain English

Making Psychotherapy Services Tax-Free Act, 2022

Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature
Legislature / Parliament
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Session
42nd Parliament, 2nd Session
Bill number
Bill 120
Full title
Making Psychotherapy Services Tax-Free Act, 2022
Current status
Did not become law (session ended)
Latest event
Carried
Last updated
Apr 28, 2022

Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.

Chamber
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Current Stage
Carried
Latest Activity
Apr 28, 2022
Plain-language explanation
In plain English (our explanation)

Our plain-language take, written for civic education.

Source: By PoliticalData.ca

AI-assisted, reviewed before publishing
Short Version

Bill 120 requires the Ontario Minister of Health to make psychotherapy services provided by regulated psychotherapy practitioners tax-free, matching the tax treatment of similar services from other practitioners.

What It Means

Bill 120 is called the Making Psychotherapy Services Tax-Free Act, 2022. It directs the Ontario Minister of Health to take all necessary steps, including introducing new legislation if needed, to ensure that psychotherapy services provided by psychotherapists, registered psychotherapists, and registered mental health therapists in Ontario are taxed the same way as similar services provided by other healthcare practitioners. The bill does not specify what that tax treatment should be, but aims to remove any differences in how these services are taxed. The bill comes into force when it receives Royal Assent.

What This Bill Does
  • Directs the Minister of Health to take all necessary steps to make the tax treatment of psychotherapy services equal to that of other practitioners' services
  • Applies to services provided by psychotherapists, registered psychotherapists, and registered mental health therapists as defined under the Psychotherapy Act, 2007
  • Authorizes the Minister to introduce additional legislation if necessary to accomplish this goal
  • Comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent
Who Is Affected
  • Psychotherapists, registered psychotherapists, and registered mental health therapists in Ontario who provide psychotherapy services
  • Ontario residents who receive psychotherapy services and may benefit from potential changes to tax treatment
  • The Ontario Minister of Health, who must take steps to implement the bill's direction
  • Other healthcare practitioners whose tax treatment will serve as the comparison point
Rights, Duties, Or Obligations
  • The Minister of Health must take all necessary steps to ensure equal tax treatment of psychotherapy services
  • The Minister has the authority to introduce legislation to achieve this goal if other steps are insufficient
Important Dates
  • The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (date not provided in bill text)
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • The bill does not specify what the current tax treatment of psychotherapy services is or how it differs from other practitioners
  • The bill does not specify what the target tax treatment should be—it only requires matching other practitioners
  • The bill does not identify which 'other practitioners' are to be used as the comparison benchmark
  • The bill does not provide a deadline or timeline for the Minister to complete this task
  • The bill does not specify what additional legislation, if any, may be required
  • It is unclear whether the bill would result in tax exemptions, tax deductions, or some other form of tax treatment
  • The bill does not contain enforcement mechanisms or penalties if the Minister does not act
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Psychotherapy Act, 2007
referenced

Bill 120 uses the definitions of psychotherapists, registered psychotherapists, and registered mental health therapists from this Act to identify which practitioners are covered

Source: Section 1

Ontario tax law (unspecified)
potentially amended

The Minister may introduce legislation to change the current tax treatment of psychotherapy services to match other practitioners

Source: Section 1

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 text

Process Snapshot

Step 1
First reading
Apr 28, 2022
Step 2
Second reading
Not reached yet
Step 3
Committee review
Not reached yet
Step 4
Third reading
Not reached yet
Step 5
Royal assent
Not reached yet

Vote Summary

No published recorded division

This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.

Sponsor
Jill Andrew
Sponsor party or district not listed
Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature

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