Canadians are prepared to embrace the idea of a tax incentive for travelling within sa国际传媒, a new poll suggests.
A private member's bill tabled in the House of Commons by Liberal MP Massimo Pacetti proposes a tax credit for air, bus or train fares on non-business trips that cross at least three provincial borders.
About 70 per cent of respondents to a recent Canadian Press-Harris/Decima poll expressed support for the idea. Regionally, almost eight in 10 respondents in Atlantic sa国际传媒 liked it, with 75 per cent of those in sa国际传媒 and Alberta in favour.
About four of every 10 people surveyed said they would be more likely to travel within sa国际传媒 if the tax break was in place, the poll found.
"I think we'd certainly like to see Canadians travelling in sa国际传媒 as opposed to outside the country," said Kevin Desjardins, vice-president of strategy and public affairs for the Tourism Industry Association of sa国际传媒.
Pacetti's bill would allow an income-tax deduction of 100 per cent of bus fares, 75 per cent on train tickets and 50 per cent for domestic flights, up to a maximum of $2,000.
As a private member's bill, the proposal is unlikely to become law, but Harris-Decima vice-president Patricia Thacker said a tax break could help reduce the country's travel deficit. That deficit - the difference between what travelling Canadians spend abroad and what foreign visitors spend here - hit $4.2 billion during the second quarter. "Our survey results show that Canadians need just a small push to consider - or to reconsider - travelling within sa国际传媒," Thacker said.
Chisholm Pothier, a spokesman for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, said the government has to consider the cost of such focused subsidies. The survey was part of an omnibus phone poll that surveyed just over 1,000 people during the first week of November. The survey carries a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
