Abstract
BackgroundThe Government of Canada implemented a Children's Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC) in 2007 which allows a non-refundable tax credit of up to $500 to register a child in an eligible physical activity (PA) program. The purposes of this study were to assess whether the awareness, uptake, and perceived effectiveness of this tax credit varied by household income among Canadian parents.MethodsAn internet-based panel survey was conducted in March 2009 with a representative sample of 2135 Canadians. Of those, parents with children aged 2 to 18 years of age (n = 1004) were asked if their child was involved in organized PA programs (including dance and sports), the associated costs to register their child in these programs, awareness of the CFTC, if they had claimed the CFTC for the tax year 2007, and whether they planned to claim it in the upcoming year. Parents were also asked if they believed the CFTC has lead to their child being more involved in PA programs.ResultsAmong parents, 54.4% stated their child was in organized PA and 55.5% were aware of the CFTC. Parents in the lowest income quartile were significantly less aware and less likely to claim the CFTC than other income groups. Among parents who had claimed the CFTC, few (15.6%) believed it had increased their child's participation in PA programs.ConclusionsMore than half of Canadian parents with children have claimed the CFTC. However, the tax credit appears to benefit the wealthier families in Canada.
Highlights
The Government of Canada implemented a Children's Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC) in 2007 which allows a non-refundable tax credit of up to $500 to register a child in an eligible physical activity (PA) program
Among the sample of 2135 respondents, 47% were parents with children between the ages of 2 to 18 years and 25.6% reported having children enrolled in organized PA programs that would be eligible for the CFTC
For parents with children between the ages of 2 to 18 years, significant unadjusted positive associations were observed for household income and whether a child was enrolled in organized PA, χ 2 (3, 1005) = 50.11, p < .0001, awareness of the CFTC, χ 2 (3, 951) = 58.48, p < .0001, claimed CFTC for 2007, χ 2 (3, 557) = 26.37, p < .0001, and planned to claim CFTC for 2008, χ 2 (3, 516) = 37.71, p
Summary
The Government of Canada implemented a Children's Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC) in 2007 which allows a non-refundable tax credit of up to $500 to register a child in an eligible physical activity (PA) program. Children from low-income families are more likely to be physically inactive and engage in sedentary pursuits [3]. The financial costs associated with organized physical activity (PA) programs (including sport and dance) are often a barrier for participation [4,5,6]. A potential policy option for governments concerned about issues of childhood physical inactivity and obesity is to alleviate the cost of participation in organized PA by offering tax rebates to families [7].
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