Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty promised parents Monday the province would grant them $50 tax credits for each child under the age of 16. The credits would be granted if the child is enrolled in extracurricular activities such as sports, swimming, dance and music lessons, tutoring, language courses and others.

Ontario would also grant another $100 for children under 18 with disabilities. The total tax credits, deductible in the parents’ 2010 income tax returns, would be up to $500 per child.

It would cost Ontario coffers $75 million per year.

McGuinty said the tax credit is one way Ontario would help parents raise healthy, active and engaged children amid rising costs. He promised to provide $50 or $100 even for parents who are non-taxfilers because of their low income.

Critics, however, said it is just Ontario’s way of making up for imposing a 12 percent harmonized sales tax in the province. Many extracurricular activities, except for music lessons, were slapped with the HST. They said the tax credits do not make up for the higher taxes under the HST.

Other activities eligible for the tax credit are memberships in chess clubs, children’s cooking lessons, craft classes, gardening courses, lifeguard courses, voice lessons, sewing lessons, pottery classes and photography classes.

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