Increase to volunteer fire fighter tax credit lauded by Penhold fire chief
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Penhold’s fire chief is applauding the recent doubling of the Volunteer Fire Fighters Tax Credit, part of the federal government’s recently released 2024 budget.
Sean Pendergast says the credit, which can be claimed on one’s taxes, is now worth $6,000, but advocacy continues to raise it to $10,000, which he says would be in line with inflation.
“We’re losing thousands of volunteer fire fighters every year across Canada [due to leaving the department],” says Pendergast, who notes that over the last few years, national numbers have dropped from 120,000 to around 90,000.
“Usually, these folks have their own jobs, lives and family that they have to balance like everyone else, but on top of that, they put in a minimum two hours training per week, and then they service emergency calls whenever they’re in, all times of day; they get up, they go and they deal with the emergency.”
