PEMBROKE — An estimated 130 families with children in Pembroke are eligible to receive money under the Harper Government’s boosted Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), but are at risk of not receiving the benefit unless they apply. The Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development, and Cheryl Gallant, Member of Parliament for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, asked for help today from the media and the public to encourage families to apply for the benefit.
The majority of families with children, approximately 3.8 million, are known and will automatically receive the boosted UCCB or be contacted by the Government to confirm their information. However, an estimated 200,000 eligible families, including 69,000 in the province of Ontario, are not currently captured by the Government’s UCCB system and may miss out on receiving money that is owed to them unless they apply. This includes approximately 90 families in Petawawa. For 2015 alone, this represents potentially millions of dollars in unclaimed benefits.
Under the boosted UCCB, families will receive almost $2,000 per year for each child under 6 and $720 per year for each child aged 6 through 17. The new benefit amounts are retroactive to January 1, 2015, and are reflected in monthly payments to families since July 2015. The increases to the UCCB are expected to more than double the number of families that benefit—from 1.6 million to more than 4 million.
If your family is not currently receiving the UCCB, has never received the UCCB or has never applied for the Canada Child Tax Benefit and you still have children under 18 in your care, please go to www.canada.ca/taxsavings
Quick Facts
* All families with children will benefit from the new Family Tax Cuts and Benefits Plan, which includes the Family Tax Cut, the boosted UCCB, the Child Care Expenses Deduction and the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit.
* Combined with tax relief introduced by the Government of Canada since 2006, a typical family of four can receive up to $6,600 in tax relief and enhanced benefits in 2015.
* Low- and middle-income families will receive two-thirds of the overall benefits provided by the Government of Canada’s new family measures.
The Family Tax Cut will eliminate or significantly reduce the difference in the federal tax payable by a one-earner couple relative to a two-earner couple with a similar family income.
