With the month of January almost over, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) have announced its third and final list of prescribed areas for livestock tax deferral. The initial list was released back in the middle of September, with the second being released in October.
The deferral will help producers who faced a tough year due to drought or flood conditions. Provinces with regions included on the list are British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.
Due to ongoing analysis, AAFC felt the need to expand the list for a third time to include more areas for the tax deferral in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.
“Extreme weather conditions created difficulties for Canada’s livestock industry in several provinces this past year. This tax deferral will help farmers manage the impacts of drought and focus on rebuilding their herds and businesses,” says Lawrence MacAulay, AAFC minister.
According to a news release, the livestock tax deferral provision allows producers in prescribed drought or excess moisture regions to defer a portion of their 2018 sale proceeds of breeding livestock until 2019 to help replenish the herd. The cost of replacing the animals in 2019 will offset the deferred income, thereby reducing the tax burden associated with the original sale. Eligibility for the tax deferral is limited to those producers located inside the prescribed areas. Producers in those regions can request the tax deferral when filing their 2018 income tax returns.
