By Karen Briere
Parts of Alberta and British Columbia are among the regions eligible for the Livestock Tax Deferral program this year. Agriculture minister Heath MacDonald announced the initial list Sept. 1.
The deferral program allows producers in the designated areas who are forced to sell all or part of their breeding herds due to extreme weather, such as drought or flooding, to defer some income from those sales.
That income can be offset, at least in part, by the cost of rebuilding, reducing the tax burden from the original sale.
WHY IT MATTERS
Extreme weather can force producers to make tough decisions about the size of their breeding herds due to lack of feed.
Producers must have cut their breeding herd by at least 15 per cent to qualify.
Those facing consecutive years of drought or excess moisture and flooding can defer income to the first year in which their region is no longer designated. Areas that are nearby to those prescribed may also be eligible for the program to ensure neighboring farms can benefit.
“Through the Livestock Tax Deferral provision, our government is giving them greater flexibility and certainty as they make important decisions about their herds and operations,” he said.
