Province earmarks $75M for capital investment tax credit

The Alberta government will invest $75-million to encourage businesses to make big capital investments that will create jobs, Deron Bilous announced in Calgary on Thursday.

The minister of economic development and trade says the Capital Investment Tax Credit (CITC) will be implemented as a 10 per cent non-refundable tax credit of up to $5 million.

The two-year program will help compensate for the dip in private capital investment that has occurred since the economic downturn began. It will also promote economic diversification, he said.

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"It's the right time to make this smart investment," Bilous said. "I know we can and will rebound from this and come out even stronger on the other side."

The province anticipates the program to generate $700 million worth of investment and support thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Alberta.

The CITC will also make Alberta competitive with many other jurisdictions that already have similar incentives for companies to buy new machinery and build new facilities.

Bilous said the program will be rolled out in 2017 following further meetings with affected stakeholders.

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