Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan Vance has launched a wide-ranging review of the rules around tax-free status for military personnel, after troops in Kuwait lost a tax break because officials said they didnāt face a high enough risk.
At the top of Vanceās list is making sure no more troops lose their tax exemption partway through deployment.
āMy intent at this juncture is to try and avoid anyone losing this tax break while theyāre actually on operations,ā he said Friday.
Ā鶹“«Ć½ first broke the story that more than 300 Canadian Forces personnel in Kuwait were losing a tax break worth $1,500 to $1,800 a month, after the military downgraded the risk assessment of their mission -- even though some personnel regularly enter Iraq, where the Islamic State has a foothold.
The Chief of the Defence Staff said troops are supposed to receive a six-month warning if their tax status will be lost. But several military personnel in Kuwait told Ā鶹“«Ć½ they were not told in advance.
āI didnāt know at all until I got on the ground,ā said one soldier who spoke to Ā鶹“«Ć½ on the condition of anonymity.
Vance hinted that those who already lost their tax break mid-tour in Kuwait could see a resolution.
āThose who had planned on it ought to be able to get it,ā he said. āSo weāre going to work on that and weāre going to try and put that in place.ā
Critics say the government should expand tax-free status to more troops stationed in global hotspots.
Documents obtained by Ā鶹“«Ć½ show that Canadians serving in Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan -- where American and Jordanian security forces have been targeted in terror attacks -- do not receive a tax break, while U.S. soldiers stationed in those same countries are tax exempt.
āCertainly, these are dangerous areas,ā said Christian Leuprecht, a professor of political science at the Royal Military College. āIn Jordan, we have active efforts by militant groups inside the country.ā
Even the mission in Erbil, Iraq, came up for review, after a risk assessment failed to qualify for automatic tax relief. On Friday, the finance ministerās office said it expects Canadian troops in Iraq will keep their tax-free status.
