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Nova Scotia finance minister to meet with film industry: lobby group

Finance Minister Diana Whalen fields questions about the Nova Scotia budget at the legislature in Halifax on Thursday, April 9, 2015.
Finance Minister Diana Whalen fields questions about the Nova Scotia budget at the legislature in Halifax on Thursday, April 9, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

HALIFAX – The lobby group that speaks for Nova Scotia’s film and TV industry says its chairman is expected to meet Tuesday with the province’s finance minister to discuss the government’s decision to virtually eliminate a key film tax credit.

The provincial government has faced stiff opposition from industry members who have publicly complained that the change to that refundable tax credit will effectively kill the industry.

Screen Nova Scotia says a two-hour meeting is scheduled for Tuesday morning at the Finance Department.

A department spokesman says it’s up to Finance Minister Diana Whalen to confirm whether the meeting is going ahead and she could not immediately be reached for comment.

Screen Nova Scotia says the refundable tax credit cost the government $24 million in 2013-14, but it generated $139 million in spending on film and TV productions and supported 2,700 jobs.

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However, the government announced last week that the refundable credit would be cut by 75 per cent.

Premier Stephen McNeil has said the subsidy is too rich for a province struggling to balance its books.

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