V IE WP OI N T ◗ KEN COUSINEAU
“The politicians need to understand that there are thousands of voters in their riding that depend on the success of the golf sector to retain their jobs.” Ken Cousineau, CGSA Executive Director KEN COUSINEAU, CAE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
It’s Time for the Grassroots Approach Le temps est venu d’agir localement! ◗ If it was any other profession or industry, the reference to “grassroots” would not be a play on words, but for the golf industry, the wry smile can’t be avoided. The industry in Canada is at a key juncture in its effort to bring fairness to the business tax scenario in Canada. Just a quick recap: Businesses in Canada can claim 50% of entertainment expenses as a business tax deduction. The problem for golf is that it is not included in the activities that can be claimed for business expense purposes. It is one of only a couple of activities that don’t qualify. In other words, if a business decides to take a client or clients golfing, the cost of the green fees and cart rental can’t be used for a business tax reduction. This golf season marks a critical juncture in our efforts to have the legislation changed. Since the launch of our campaign in 2011, NAGA partners have worked hard to establish awareness for the request among MPs, bureaucrats and third parties to create all-party support, including the establishment of an all-party golf caucus. To be decisive, the efforts over the next six months will require a concerted effort in each and every riding across Canada – a truly grassroots effort – to create the pressure needed within the Conservative Party caucus to get the answer we want and need to help revitalize our industry. To quote a prominent government relations consultant when asked about this issue, “If we want the job done, we’ll have to do it ourselves!” How does the grassroots thing actually work and what can you do to make it happen? It’s actually quite simple. Find out 10 GreenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
who your MP is in the riding where your golf course is located. If you happen to actually know your MP, that’s a bonus. If that is the case, familiarize yourself with the issue, call the MP and ask for a 20 minute meeting. Use the materials that the NAGA consultants can provide to both help you with the issue and provide you with materials to leave with your MP. If you don’t know the MP, check at your facility to determine if anyone there knows the MP. If someone does, ask them to make the appointment and offer your support and participation in the meeting. If no one knows the MP, make the appointment or have our consultant assist with making the appointment and have the meeting. It takes 20 minutes, with an hour or two to prepare prior to the meeting and maybe another 30 minutes after the meeting to record what happened. The 2015 federal budget is our best opportunity to have this change implemented. It will almost undoubtedly be a surplus budget, providing the opportunity for the federal government to provide some tax relief. But golf is still seen as an elitist activity. The grassroots effort is needed to demonstrate who is actually affected by this unfair policy. The politicians need to understand that there are thousands of voters in their riding that depend on the success of the golf sector to retain their jobs. They need to understand that golf is truly a business development activity, much the same or more so than baseball, hockey, the opera or any other approved activity. It is estimated that this change will result in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional expenditures for green fees,
cart fees and countless more in food and beverage and equipment expenditures. This issue is critically important to the industry and you are critically important to the success of our efforts. Make the effort, please! For more information please contact Michael Hatch at mhatch@impactcanada. com or me at the CGSA office or go to www.canadagolfs.ca. GM ◗ Nous en sommes maintenant à un point tournant de la politique fiscale canadienne et nous devons faire en sorte d’assurer un traitement équitable à notre industrie. Permettez-moi de faire le survol de la question. Pour réduire leur fardeau fiscal, les entreprises peuvent réclamer 50% de leurs dépenses de divertissement. Malheureusement, le golf ne fait pas partie de ces activités récréatives déductibles d’impôt. Lorsqu’elles invitent un ou des clients à jouer une ronde de golf, les entreprises ne peuvent donc pas profiter de ce coup de pouce fiscal pour les frais d’entrée et la location de la voiturette. La présente saison de golf marque une étape cruciale de nos efforts pour faire modifier cette loi. Depuis le lancement de notre campagne à cet effet en 2011, les partenaires de la National Allied Golf Association (NAGA) travaillent d’arrachepied pour sensibiliser les députés, les bureaucrates et autres intervenants. Ils tentent d’obtenir le soutien de tous les partis politiques et même de créer un groupe parlementaire multipartite dévoué à notre cause. Pour être victorieux, il faudra redoubler d’efforts au cours des six prochains mois en nous mobilisant