Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers has joined other farm groups in calling on the federal government to keep a regulation that allows farmers to defer grain sales into the following year for tax purposes.
The government announced in its recent budget that it is considering eliminating grain ticket deferrals because it is a left over from the days when farmers were forced to market their grain through the Canadian Wheat Board.
“With the deregulation of the grain marketing regime and the commercialization of the Canadian Wheat Board, the delivery of listed grains (to a licensed elevator) is now the responsibility of private business rather than the federal government,” the government said in the budget documents.
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“As a result, there is arguably no longer a clear rationale for maintaining the tax deferral accorded to deferred cash purchase tickets received as payment for listed grains.”
However, KAP delegates say they remain an important option given the uncertainties of farming.
“A farmer could have a good crop and good selling conditions one year, and be wiped out the next,” said KAP president Dan Mazier in a release. “Crops could be hit by drought or disease, prices could fall, rail service could be poor, anything could happen – this option allows a farmer to prepare for a lean year, and file taxes accordingly.”
Farmers have historically used the option to manage cash flow and even out their income from one year to the next.
The federal government is taking comments on the the proposed change until May 24. Farmers can send their comments to: Comments can be sent to [email protected].
