ABCtech #89 04-APR-17 Alberta’s New Investor’s Tax Credit Program – Feedback

ABCtech #88 04-APR-17 Alberta’s New Investor’s Tax Credit Program – Feedback

We asked you during March to share your experience with Alberta’s new Investor’s Tax Credit Program (AITC). In summary, the Program introduced in January 2017 is not well known, and several policies need fixing if the Program is to meet it’s objective of stirring investment in Alberta innovation and contributing to diversification of the Alberta economy.

Here are highlights (bolding added):

Who Responded? 63% are Eligible Business Corporations (EBC) and 10% both an EBC and Venture Capital Corporation. Others are unsure.  Comment. “Only recently heard about it. One of Government’s not well published funding sources.”

       Program Awareness? 18% were not aware of the Program.  Of the 82% aware of the Program, they will be completing an application (66%) or have done so and are awaiting feedback(11%), been asked to revise their application (11%), or been notified that they are not eligible (11%).

 Satisfaction? Most are respondents are Uncertain as to their satisfactioin with the Program. Otherwise, the Dissatisfied out-number the Satisfied 3:1.

1. “The fact that EBC’s are required to have only shareholders who do not receive any sort of compensation approve the compensation programs for directors and officers, is untenable.”

2. “We have funding through Alberta Accelerate fund and the policy of not allowing Investors to invest in a business that has funding through funds like that doesn’t seem to meet the spirit of such a program.”

3. “The mechanics of the program – not being able to gurantee prospective investors a 30% tax credit as the government had advertised would happen – make it all but unpalatable for the investors I have spoken to re: investing in my company. Investing in start-ups comes is an uncertain investment at best and not being able to guarantee investors a 30% tax credit all but nullifies any good that was intended by this program.”