Tax, charities rules under scrutiny as Liberals craft social finance strategy
OTTAWA — A group of experts is considering whether a niche should be carved out of the tax system to unlock billions in private cash for a range of programs that could help the homeless get off the street or boost the incomes of Indigenous Peoples.
The heads of the advisory group say the issue is one of many being studied as part of work on a federal strategy on social finance, an area that looks to link the charitable and private sectors to deliver services that have a social or environmental benefit.
What makes the approach attractive to governments is that it shifts the financial risk from taxpayers to investors in the delivery of social programs.
The federal government currently identifies 69 companies as social enterprises, such as a 35-year-old Halifax bakery that employs marginalized people, and an online sock store that donates a pair for each one ordered.