Mar 5 2010
Removing administrative barriers under the Canada-US Tax Treaty for
investors such as non-resident venture capital funds are a welcome
change, and ease the way for investment in Canadian biotechnology firms
according to trade industry association BIOTECanada.
“This change will create a
great incentive to invest in our innovative Canadian firms, and that’s
what we need to keep our emerging companies growing and continuing to
bring new ideas from the lab to the marketplace.”
“We are pleased to see modifications to section 116, which were
recommended by BIOTECanada and many others, implemented,” said Peter
Brenders, president and CEO of BIOTECanada. “This change will create a
great incentive to invest in our innovative Canadian firms, and that’s
what we need to keep our emerging companies growing and continuing to
bring new ideas from the lab to the marketplace.”
The announced changes to section 116, will remove double tax filing
requirements and administrative delays that have to date turned many
foreign venture capital and institutional investors away from investing
in Canadian biotechnology firms.
BIOTECanada had called on the government to amend section 248 of the
Income Tax Act to exclude shares of private corporations from taxation
and create an incentive for foreign investors to enter Canada.
The budget also renewed funding for early stage research through the
granting councils, including CIHR and Genome Canada, an important boost
for the innovation economy. In addition, BIOTECanada lauds the announced
$600 million over 3 years to help develop the innovation sector and
attract talented people to strengthen world-leading research and
development capabilities. BIOTECanada also welcomes the government’s
announcement to start a comprehensive review of all R&D federal support
to improve the federal contribution to innovation and economic
opportunities for business. In a time of rapidly growing global
competition, Canada needs to find new ways to increase our
competitiveness. The government’s focus on innovation is a strong signal
to our international competition.
BIOTECanada noted that biotechnology continues to play a growing role in
all sectors of the Canadian economy. The sector has a direct
contribution of $1 billion in research spending per year, and a broader
contribution of 6.4 % to the GDP ($78.3 billion) through the
bio-economy. This contribution is the greater than the automotive
sector, or the forestry sector, underscoring the critical
transformational role of biotech applications.
Source BIOTECanada
www.biotech.ca
New gene-editing method can correct many disease-causing mutations in mammalian cells