May 27, 2019 - Ottawa, Ontario - Department of Finance Canada
Health and welfare benefits are there for Canadians when they need them the most, so the Government wants to ensure people receive those benefits in a consistent, efficient and reliable way.
To support that goal, Budget 2018 proposed that legislative provisions be introduced to convert the Health and Welfare Trusts that allow Canadian employers to provide benefits to their employees into Employee Life and Health Trusts. This would mean only one set of tax rules would apply to these arrangements after 2020 - reducing redundancy and providing greater certainty and consistency to taxpayers.
The Budget invited stakeholders to provide input on this transition. Consultations concluded on June 29, 2018.
With the views of stakeholders carefully considered, the Department of Finance today released draft legislative proposals that would:
- facilitate the conversion of existing Health and Welfare Trusts into Employee Life and Health Trusts; and
- amend the existing Employee Life and Health Trust tax rules to allow what are currently Health and Welfare Trust arrangements to continue to operate in a manner similar to that in which they currently operate.
Details on the proposed changes are provided in the links below. Canadians are invited to provide comments by July 31, 2019. Please send your comments to [email protected]. Written correspondence related to this consultation can also be mailed to:
Tax Policy Branch
Department of Finance Canada
90 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G5
