QUEEN’S PARK– Good news today for farmers, food banks and the needy as one of the most important aspects of the Local Food Act is proclaimed.
“My colleague Bob Bailey, MPP for Sarnia, has been working for five years on a tax credit for farmers who donate their products to their local food banks,” said Toby Barrett, Haldimand-Norfolk MPP and Opposition Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Critic. “The tax credit was originally proposed by Bailey as a Private Members Bill and later as an amendment to the Local Food Act. The idea was one of the last remaining items of the legislation that still needed to be proclaimed — people were starting to ask questions as to why it wasn’t yet in place.”
Barrett has been vocal on the issue over recent weeks as the amendment will give farmers a non-refundable tax credit worth 25 per cent of the wholesale value to farmers who choose to donate. He said it will also help some of society’s most vulnerable who could benefit from fresh local food.
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For more information contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446, 1-800-903-8629