In Canada, tax incentives have been recently introduced to promote physical activity and reduce rates of obesity. The most prominent of these is the federal government's Children's Fitness Tax Credit, which came into effect in 2007. We critically assess the potential benefits and limitations of using tax measures to promote physical activity. Careful design could make these measures more effective, but any tax-based measures have inherent limitations, and the costs of such programs are substantial. Therefore, it is important to consider whether public funds are better spent on other strategies that could instead provide direct public funding to address environmental and systemic factors.

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One way in which charities could increase their positive impact on society is by raising revenue through carrying on a business. Current income-tax legislation in Canada, however, restricts the ability of charities to do so by prohibiting them from carrying on an unrelated business. This article reviews the current law and explores the options for loosening this restriction, while at the same time addressing the potential problems associated with charity-operated businesses. In the end, the author recommends that all charities except private foundations be permitted to operate small businesses, so long as the business activities are disclosed to donors. RÉSUMÉLes oeuvres caritatives pourraient augmenter leur impact positif sur la société en faisant accroître leur revenu au moyen d'une activité commerciale. Au Canada, cependant, la loi actuelle de l'impôt sur le revenu restreint la liberté des oeuvres caritatives en les interdisant de gérer un commerce sans lien avec leur activité principale. Cet article passe en revue la loi actuelle et explore les options pour libéraliser la loi, tout en recensant les problèmes potentiels associés aux commerces qui seraient gérés par des oeuvres caritatives. Au bout du compte, l'auteur recommande que toute oeuvre caritative à l'exception de la fondation privée ait la permission de tenir une petite entreprise, en autant que l'oeuvre mette ses donateurs au courant de son activité commerciale.

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