Allow golf expense deduction

AI summary

Petitioners ask the Minister of Finance and National Revenue to amend paragraph 18(1)(l)(i) of the Income Tax Act to allow businesses to deduct 50% of green fees and power cart fees at golf facilities. They say the current provision excludes golf from the 50% business entertainment expense deduction available for other activities and argue that updating it would correct an alleged inequity and benefit local small businesses.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue Paragraph 18(1)(l)(i) of the Income Tax Act specifically excludes golf courses from the business entertainment expense deduction available to Canadian businesses; Canadian businesses may claim a 50% deduction for entertainment expenses incurred at restaurants, sporting events, concerts, and other activities, but a round of golf with clients is excluded; and Modernizing this provision does not create a new tax benefit, it simply corrects an inequity by aligning the tax treatment of golf with other comparable activities that are already eligible for the deduction. We, the undersigned, Residents of Canada, call upon the Minister of Finance and National Revenue to amend paragraph 18(1)(l)(i) of the Income Tax Act to allow businesses to deduct 50% of legitimate business entertainment expenses related to green fees and power cart fees at golf facilities, consistent with the tax treatment afforded to other eligible forms of business entertainment. This change would not provide golf with preferential tax treatment. Rather, it would remove the current inequity and provide golf-related business entertainment with treatment consistent with other eligible business entertainment expenses. The amendment would be positive for local small business across Canada. We therefore urge the Government of Canada to modernize this more than 50-year-old provision and ensure that Canadian businesses and golf facilities are treated fairly and consistently within Canada’s tax system.

Government response

No government response is available yet.