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Tax credit to spur LNG

B.C. is changing the province's tax structure for liquefied natural gas projects, aiming to encourage more development through a natural gas tax credit.

Finance Minister Carole James says the change was introduced in legislation today and is meant to bring jobs and other financial benefits to the province through economic partnerships with Indigenous Peoples while also protecting the environment.

Under the changes, the government would amend the Income Tax Act to implement the tax credit for LNG development.

It would also repeal the Liquefied Natural Gas Income Tax Act, which it says created barriers for investment and left the province open to footing the bill for special industry tax and regulatory protections.

In October, LNG Canada announced plans for a $40-billion project in Kitimat.

The government says the tax changes it is making will provide the fiscal framework needed for the project, which is expected to create 10,000 construction jobs and up to 950 permanent jobs in the processing terminal.

The new tax credit would go in effect on Jan. 1, 2020, to companies that qualify for it. It would be calculated at three per cent of the cost of natural gas and could be used to reduce B.C.'s corporate income tax rate from 12 per cent to nine per cent.



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