Former Alberta WEXIT leader joins Freedom Conservative Party – Western Standard

The UCP government has launched its $90-million tax credit for companies to make their movies in Alberta.

Its a program that has meet with scorn from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Maxing out at $10 million a movie, the Film and Television Tax Creditprogram will give productions a refundable tax credit to help cover Alberta production and labour costs

Applicants may be eligible for either a 22 per cent or 30 per cent tax credit for productions that are Alberta owned, the government said in a Wednesday release.

We want our province to be a destination that attracts talent, investment and business from across Canada and around the globe. This credit, combined with our low tax environment and breathtaking landscapes, makes Alberta an attractive destination for big-budget television and film projects that inject millions into our economy and create jobs for Albertans, said Minister of Economic Development and Tourism Tanya Fir.

The tax credit has already met with some corporate approval.

Disney has a long history of creating content in Alberta. We are pleased to see that the Alberta government is launching a film and television tax credit and we look forward to working with them to continue to create stunning content using Albertas landscapes and crews. said MaryAnn Hughes, vice president, production and investment planning for the Walt Disney Company. Her statement was provided within in the government release.

But Franco Terrazzano, Alberta director of the CTA, said Wednesday Premier Jason Kenney has better things to spend taxpayers money on.

Jason Kenney has a $70-billion debt to deal with. Why is Minister Fir running around playing investment banker risking taxpayers money, Terrazzano told the Western Standard.

Stop it with this nonsense. The government has to get out of the business of being in business.

The governments has pledged to grow Albertas cultural industries by 25 per cent over the next decade.

The previous NDP government had capped their provincial film grant program at $7.5-million.

The UCP budget in October said new money for film tax credits will be $15 million in the 2020-21 fiscal year, $30 million in 2021-22 and $45 million in 2022-23.

Some Alberta film produces are worried $90 million over four years isnt nearly enough.

QUICK FACTS

Every year, Alberta graduates more than 3,000 creative industry professionals from its post-secondary institutions. According to industry estimates, more than 3,200 Albertans are employed in the provinces motion picture and video industry. According to Statistics Canada data: Every $1 million of production activity in the screen-based production sector creates about 13 Alberta jobs. Every $1 million of government investment under the Film and Television Tax Credit program is expected to support about 60 Alberta jobs.

Facts from the Alberta government

Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard

dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com

Twitter: Nobby7694

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Former Alberta WEXIT leader joins Freedom Conservative Party - Western Standard