Productivity Mega Deduction a welcome step for investment in Canada

The Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) welcomes the federal government's move to permanently allow immediate expensing for a much broader range of new capital investment. 

BCBC has long recommended that the federal government move away from temporary and narrowly targeted depreciation measures toward broad and permanent accelerated depreciation. Expanding immediate expensing from roughly 15 per cent of capital assets to about two-thirds is a meaningful improvement and recognises the need to encourage substantially more business investment after a decade of weak performance. Allowing businesses to write off eligible investments immediately will provide greater certainty for long-term investment decisions and strengthen Canada's tax competitiveness. 

The new Productivity Mega Deduction is a significant step in the right direction and aligns with BCBC's longstanding recommendation. While some important long-lived assets remain excluded from permanent immediate expensing, this is the kind of broad-based tax reform Canada needs to encourage investment, improve productivity, and demonstrate that we are open for business.