Family farmers across Canada are calling on the federal government to modernize "old fashioned" tax laws prohibiting them from passing properties down to their nieces and nephews without crippling financial burdens, creating a silent inheritance crisis and threatening the foundation of family farming in Canada.
Under the Income Tax Act (ITA), a farmer can transfer qualified farm property to their child on a tax-deferred basis, but not to a niece or nephew, even if they have worked the same land for decades. This outdated restriction often triggers capital gains taxes in the millions, forcing younger family members to sell the farms they've helped sustain, dooming the family farm.
According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian farmer is now 56 years old, and fewer than 1 in 12 farms has a successor under 40. Without immediate reform, tens of thousands of acres of ripe farmland could be lost to consolidation under control of foreign-owned agriculture giants.
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