Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Pursuant to Rule 7.27, I have received follow-up information for Oral Question 568-20(1), Lowest Return Airfare for Income Tax Returns, asked on February 28th, 2025, by the Member for Great Slave to the Minister of Finance.

Further to the response provided to the Member for Great Slave on February 28, 2025, regarding Lowest Return Airfare for Income Tax Returns and the indexing of northern resident's tax deduction since 2023, the following additional information is provided:

The northern residents travel deduction requires applicants to determine the lowest return airfare for their calculation. The lowest return airfare is the cost of the cheapest round-trip airfare available when the applicant's travel began, between the airport closest to their residence and the nearest designated city, which for the Northwest Territories is Edmonton. Northwest Territories residents can determine the lowest return airfare amount to claim their travel deductions by gathering documentation to support the quoted return airfare between the airport closest to their community of residence and Edmonton on, or close to, the date of the travel or they can use the Canada Revenue Agency's lowest return airfare tables.

Following consultations with Canadians, the Canada Revenue Agency started to provide lowest return airfare tables as a convenience for tax filers who do not want the take the extra effort of collecting documentation. However, Northwest Territories residents still have a choice. They can determine the lowest return airfare amount to claim their travel deductions by gathering documentation to support the quoted return airfare between the airport closest to their community of residence and Edmonton on, or close to, the date of the travel or they can use the Canada Revenue Agency's lowest return airfare tables.

Using the Canada Revenue Agency's tables is the most convenient method because these amounts are readily available, will not be disputed by the Agency, and do not require further documentation. However, the Canada Revenue Agency determines the annual tables by working with a business travel service provider to determine the lowest economy fares that are ordinarily available during a quarter for airlines operating in the prescribed zones, using prices for flights between eligible airports and designated cities. Tax filers who are not satisfied with the Canada Revenue Agency's tables can check for the lowest economy return airfare from the Northwest Territories tax filer's community to Edmonton on the day they are travelling and save the information in case the Canada Revenue Agency checks. In most cases what the traveller paid will be lower than the lowest economy return airfare purchased on the day of travel.

The Canada Revenue Agency administers the Northwest Territories' income taxes and should be the first source for Northwest Territories residents to use for questions on filing their income taxes. For help on any income tax topic, Northwest Territories residents can contact the dedicated telephone service for territorial residents at 1-866-426-1527, which the Canada Revenue Agency set up to assist Northerners with individual tax and benefit enquiries.

With respect to indexing the Northern Residents Deduction, I have not raised this issue with the federal Finance Minister since 2023. The Northern Residents Deduction changes taxable income and so a request to index the Northern Residents Deduction is complicated by the tax collection agreements between Canada and all provinces and territories except Quebec that require the same definition of taxable personal income. The Northern Residents Deduction reduces personal income tax revenues and so requesting that the Northern Residents Deduction residency component be indexed for inflation requires the support of other territories and can be challenging to advocate for if other provinces perceive additional benefits flowing to the territories as not necessary, which has been the case in the past. The Department of Finance will update its analysis on indexing and provide this to the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight by the end April 2025.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.