Prairie wheat growers will be able to write off slightly more of their checkoff dollars when filing their returns for the 2009 tax year.
The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), which collects checkoffs on Prairie wheat and Saskatchewan and Manitoba barley, on Thursday announced the percentage of farmers’ checkoffs eligible for a federal scientific research and experimental development (SR+ED) tax credit.
Farmers who paid into the WGRF’s wheat and barley checkoff can claim 83 per cent of their wheat checkoff and 76 per cent of their barley checkoff for the 2009 tax year, at a rate of 20 per cent for individuals (35 per cent for Canadian-controlled private corporations).
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That’s compared to 80 per cent for wheat and 82 per cent for barley for 2008.
So for example, if a farmer paid $300 in wheat checkoffs in 2009, the eligible amount would be calculated by taking 83 per cent (the wheat percentage) of the $300, or $249.
The farmer, if filing as an individual, would get 20 per cent of that $249, or $49.80, as a SR+ED tax credit, while the same farmer filing as a corporation would get 35 per cent as an SR+ED tax credit, or $87.15.
Because the Alberta Barley Commission collects Alberta barley growers’ checkoff dollars, Alberta’s $1-per-tonne barley checkoff will be subject to a different SR+ED tax credit rate than those on barley in Manitoba or Saskatchewan. That percentage wasn’t available Friday.
The WGRF’s percentages are the percentages of the checkoff dollars spent directly on research. Growers who opt out of the WGRF’s checkoff will not be eligible for the SR+ED tax credit.
The federal government’s budget on Thursday pledged “administrative improvements” to the SR+ED tax incentive program for 2010.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) “will begin to report quarterly, through its website, on the time it takes to review an SR+ED claim from start to finish,” the budget papers noted, referring to a change first announced in January.
Also, the budget papers noted, a new manual for CRA reviewers will become effective on April 1, emphasizing how the agency “will work closely with claimants so that they may better understand the SR+ED program requirements and process.”
The CRA “continues to work with stakeholders to identify ways to improve the administration of the SR+ED program,” the government said.
