MS patients claim vein therapy on taxes

The controversial move by some Canadians with multiple sclerosistoreceive an experimental treatment outside of the country could be heading to the tax office.

Some Canadians who've travelled out of the country for an unproven procedure proposed by Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni to treat narrowed or blocked veins in the neck say they'll submit a claim formedical costs on their income tax returns.

People might have to convince a tax assessorthat the proceduremeets the rules sincethe MStreatment is not approved in Canada, said Denis St-Pierre, a certified general accountant based in Bathurst, N.B.

"It makes it subject to interpretation," St-Pierre said from Ottawa on Tuesday. "As soon asyou start interpreting the law, then it depends who's reading it."

St-Pierre thinks the expense would probably be tax-deductible, based in part from an interpretation or general view from Revenue Canadadating to 2008 on the subject of out of country medical claims for stem cell therapies.

But the Income Tax Act is one of the few Canadian laws structured with a reverse onus on claimants, St-Pierre said, and it will depend on whether the tax agency considers the vein angioplasty in MS patients to be a medical procedure.

The agency's interpretationstates: "An individual's qualifying medical expenses are not restricted to those incurred or paid in Canada," so long as the hospital andmedical practitioner are licensed where the procedure takes place.

If the person pays taxes,their medical claim could be worth20 to 25 per cent ofthe actual amount paid, St-Pierre said. People who aren't taxable won't have any use for the credit,he added.

Toronto tax specialist Peter Weissman believes MS patients can boost their chances of success if they have a letter of support from a doctor. Weissman, who has MS, claimed a tax credit last year for an experimental stem cell treatment that is also not available in Canada.

Membersof some MS advocacy groups are urging patients who've had surgery to submit expense claims.

Jessica Williams of Calgary, 28,went to Germany two months ago for the vein therapy to try to relievefatigue, balance and strength problems, along withdebilitating migraines, related tothe relapsingMS she was diagnosed with eight years ago.

Her out-of-pocket costs totalled $22,000, which the Canadian health-care system won't pay. Based on her expenses, St-Pierre estimates she could beeligible for up to$4,000 in tax credits.

"My plan so far is I've got all the receipts put aside," said Williams. "I'm going to submit it to him [the accountant] and cross my fingers and hope that the CRA gives me a tax credit."

Williams says it is ironic that the tax branch of the federal government may recognize a treatment that health officials won't.