An Ontario vegetable grower and a farm succession planner wants the federal government to implement a simple change to the Income Tax Act.

Derryn Shrosbree says Section 73(3) of the Income Tax Act needs to be amended to include nieces and nephews. Currently, a farmer can transfer qualified farm property to their child on a tax-deferred basis. This does not extend to a niece or nephew, who then have to deal with capital gains taxes that place additional financial pressure on younger producers.

Farm succession is an important issue on many Canadians farms because the average producer is 56-years-old. With smaller families, the odds of having a son or daughter take over the farm are reduced. Shrosbree has many farm clients where nieces and nephews are actively farming and are impacted by what he calls ”an outdated law”.

Shrosbree says it would by a simple change and should not be a political issue.  He is asking producers to contact their MP if they would like to see the Income Tax Act tax amended.

CJWW Agriculture Director Neil Billinger interviewed Derryn Shrosbree on November 20th.