Whereas it is recognized that there is a pressing need to stimulate rural economic development in British Columbia; And whereas mechanisms that allow rural regions to capture and reinvest some portion of regional economic activity has been identified as a best practice in rural economic revitalization; And whereas the Community Economic Development Investment Fund CEDIF in Nova Scotia and other jurisdictions has proven to be an effective and efficient means to generate investment capital to support small business expansion and creation in rural areas: Therefore be it resolved that the Ministry of Finance for British Columbia initiate a CEDIF program for BC that would offer British Columbians a tax credit of 35 or more for investing in locally owned and operated corporations, cooperatives and other community economic development initiatives.
Ministry of Finance The British Columbia Government is committed to maintaining a competitive tax structure for all businesses, including those in rural regions. BC already offers a small business venture capital tax credit, which supports investments in small businesses across the Province. The tax credit is worth 30 percent of eligible investments. A portion of this tax credit budget is reserved for corporations whose business activities promote community diversification in a region outside Greater Vancouver or the Capital Regional District. BC also supports economic development by providing one of North Americas most competitive business climates. The general corporate income tax rate has been cut by almost 35 percent since 2001 and is now the lowest in Canada. BCs combined federal-provincial rate is among the lowest in G7 countries. Moreover, Government has increased the small business corporate income tax threshold to 500,000 and cut the small business corporate income tax rate 44 percent from 4.5 percent to 2.5 percentone of the lowest rates in the country. BC businesses do not pay provincial capital tax or payroll taxes.