Présentations(Disponible en anglais seulement) Schizophrenia Society of Canada Le 11 août 2003 Ms SherriTorjman Further to your request of June 9, 2003, the Schizophrenia Society of Canada (SSC) would be pleased to have our November 2001 submission to the House of Commons Sub-Committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities posted on the Committee's Web site at www.disabilitytax.ca. However, given that CCRA has taken many of our initial recommendations into consideration and appears to be addressing the rigid nature of the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) form, we would like to add this letter as an addendum to our original position. While we are encouraged that CCRA seems to be exploring the allowance of more qualitative responses on the form and is showing a willingness to review cases in a more humane time-frame, there still remains the issue of the Income Tax Act itself. The current language of the Act needs to address the fact that not all disabilities are prolonged, that is "last or are expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months." It is necessary to redefine prolonged to incorporate impairments that are substantial, persistent and recurrent so as to recognize the episodic nature of mental illness. By doing this, it would allow those affected by mental illness and other episodic disabilities to receive the DTC without delay and/or appeal. CCRA has gone as far as it can in its role to amend the DTC form but we recognize that we are in the middle of the process of creating significant and meaningful changes to the tax credit. We are encouraged that CCRA has engaged organizations like SSC in this process and should therefore address the issues expressed in our original 2001 brief. However, the key stumbling block to ensuring the eligibility of the DTC is inclusive of all disabilities remains the Income Tax Act. We are in agreement with the submission of the Coalition for Disability Tax Credit (DTC) Reform and now call for a change to the Act itself. Thank you again for taking an interest in our concerns regarding the eligibility for the DTC. Sincerely,
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