Local livestock producers eligible for federal tax help

Ranchers in southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan are eligible for the federal government’s Livestock Tax Deferral program.

The initial list of eligible regions was released today by Marie-Claude Bibeau, the minister of agriculture and agri-food.

The program allows livestock producers who must sell a significant amount of their breeding herd due to drought or flooding to defer part of their income from sales until the next tax year. The income may be at least partially offset by the cost of reacquiring breeding animals, reducing the potential tax burden associated with the original sale.

Under the Livestock Tax Deferral, to defer income, the breeding herd must have been reduced by at least 15 per cent.