by Morinville News Staff
A coalition of concerned Albertans has launched Albertans4giving.ca, a new website designed to protect and raise awareness on charitable donations.
Under the government’s recently tabled budget, the charitable tax credit is set to be reduced from 21 per cent to 12.75 per cent.
The coalition argues the current rate of 21 per cent has led to Albertans giving the most to charity with the cities of Edmonton and Calgary being two of the most generous in the country.
“This tax increase will hurt our most vulnerable, our food banks, our churches and our charitable organizations right across the province,” Albertans4Giving spokesperson Brad Tennant said in a release Monday. “Individuals on the front lines are already feeling the pinch given the current economic climate. Mr. Prentice’s budget will only make things worse.”
The group believes the change to the tax credit will result in a decrease in donations to non-profit groups in 2016.
“These groups take care of those who need a hand up and ensure our most vulnerable are taken care of,” Tennant said. “Today, we are calling on Premier Prentice to immediately reverse this dangerous tax on charitable giving.”
A noble effort…
Unfortunately, online petitions are worth diddly-squat and can merely serve to act as a “feel-good” project for those who profess to be interested.
There are only two ways to actually achieve your aim:
1. Get out and VOTE for the party which will ensure this new tax grab is repealed; or
2. Get off your collective butts and do a REAL petition!
Personally, I reckon you have a better chance of success with the former although, to this point in time, I have not heard of ANY opposition party promising to specifically repeal ANY of the new taxes!.
Here’s another interesting item – this so-called petition was created by a programme called “NationBuilder” which is the all-singing, all-dancing platform used by the Wild Rose Party. This in turn suggests to me that the authors of this document are pretty high up the food chain in the Party itself, since access to the “NationBuilder” programme is quite limited.
Hi James,
The petition is being done online for a variety of reasons. First, it is easier for supporters to share. Second, it is easier to keep in touch with people who sign it via email or other forms of contact. It is also easier to reach out to people throughout the province and not in one geographic area. Finally, you can’t do a real petition that appeals to the legislature now as it technically doesn’t exist during an election.
As far as Nation Builder, it is an effective tool and you can build a website using it for relatively cheap. You can check them out at http://www.nationbuilder.com – anyone can build one. We are not going to be spending a lot of money on this campaign (it costs next to nothing) and any success will predominately rely on the passion of supporters.
We will be asking every party where they stand with the tax benefit for charitable giving. We hope to push out updates through the website and social media as soon as we hear back.
If you have any further questions please shoot them off to albertans4giving@gmail.com. Really happy to answer any and all questions.
Best,
Brad
Hi Brad…
Nice of you to comment on my comment, but my original contention remains…
I actually believe this to be a noble cause, but as I have already stated – an ONLINE-type petition is a totally useless exercise. Without resorting to one of my previously noted suggestions, this whole initiative can really only let people “THINK” they are doing something tangible to force government to change its mind – and good luck with that!
Your contention that “you can’t do a real petition that appeals to the legislature now as it technically doesn’t exist during an election” is, to me, only so much blowing of smoke by people who are not willing to put forth any REAL effort to achieve the aim. Have you ever been involved in the REAL (as opposed to the online) petition process? Well I have and I highly recommend that you become familiar with legislation pertaining to such activities!
Good Luck to you and have a nice day,
James