Value-Added Agriculture Incentive introduced by Sask. government

On April 19, Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison introduced Bill 125, the Saskatchewan Value-Added Agriculture Incentive, for first reading in the Saskatchewan Legislature.

Announced as part of the 2018-19 budget, the new incentive is curated to improve investment attraction and retention outcomes in the province’s value-added agriculture sector.

“Robust economic growth and new investment in key sectors are crucial to Saskatchewan’s people and their communities,” Harrison said. “To accomplish this, we must continually find new ways to foster a competitive business environment in our province.”

It offers a 15 per cent non-refundable tax credit for value-added agriculture facilities that make a significant capital investment to expand the production capacity.

Qualifying projects include new and existing value-added agricultural facilities, and in order to be eligible, a project must have $10 million in new capital expenditures, as well as the ability to demonstrate that capital expenditures were made for the purpose of increasing productive capacity. The qualifying project must meet the definition of value-added agriculture.

In a report from the Saskatchewan government, some examples that were listed include pea protein processors, oat milling operations, malt producers, or cannabis oil-processing facilities.

The incentive is designed to be used in addition to other existing incentives in Saskatchewan that a project may also qualify for.

Redemption of the benefits is limited to 20 per cent in the first year after the facility begins operation, 30 per cent in the second year, and 50 per cent in the third year, with a maximum carry-forward of 10 years on any remaining credit amount.

The program is set to begin accepting applications in mid-to-late 2018.