British Columbia hands film industry a break

The B.C. government will give film companies an extra $30 million a year in tax breaks to keep them from pulling up stakes and moving to Ontario or Quebec, Finance Minister Colin Hansen announced Thursday. The tax breaks match those introduced by the Ontario government in December and give the film industry more "breathing room" over the next 15 months, Hansen said. In the meantime, B.C. government officials will study the long-term impact of using tax credits to help the industry. But Hansen said Thursday that he couldn't afford to wait months for that analysis to be completed before offering the companies at least temporary tax relief.

Source: Kines, Lindsay & Jeff Rud, Times Colonist, (extract)