British Columbia s Business Advantages Prepared for: Italian Business Delegation Prepared by: International Trade and Investment Attraction Ministry of International Trade October 18, 2013
British Columbia Fast Facts Canada s western-most and third largest province Largest Business, Finance, Technological and Cultural Center of Western Canada Multi-cultural population of 4.6M GDP $ 218 Billion, producing 12% of Canada s GDP While forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture remain important, there is strong growth in tourism, film, high technology and green energy BC enjoys a AAA credit rating Prince Rupert Kitimat Y U K O N Fort St. John B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a Prince George Kelowna Cranbrook Victoria Vancouver 2
Closest Gateway To Asia Vancouver is well positioned to take advantage of trade relationships with the Asia Pacific region shortest sea route between North America and Asia 120 non-stop flights a week to the Asia Pacific 67 flights a week to Europe 77 direct flights a day to US destinations Direct flying time from Vancouver to major cities San Francisco Los Angeles New York London Tokyo Hong Kong 2:15 hrs 3:00 hrs 5:15 hrs 9:00 hrs 9:45 hrs 13:00 hrs BC s business day overlaps with afternoon working hours in Europe and morning work schedules in Asia 3
Duty-Free Access to North American Markets Applicable to goods that are wholly obtained or produced within North America or sufficiently transformed Canadian duties on imports from non-nafta countries are generally as low or lower than US duties 4
Tax Competitiveness Business tax burdens among the lowest No capital tax, no provincial payroll taxes, no property tax on equipment Combined federal-provincial corporate income tax rate of 26% is lower than in every U.S. state B.C. residents now pay the lowest personal income tax in Canada for incomes up to $122,000 Generous tax credits for R&D and other targeted sectors CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATES 2012 British Columbia 26.00%* Alberta 25.00% Quebec 26.90% Ontario 26.50% California 40.75% Washington 35.00% Oregon 39.94% Sources: PricewaterhouseCoopers, April 2013 *June Budget Update 2013, BC Ministry of Finance (June 27, 2013) 5
Cost of Labour Vancouver s total payroll cost is generally lower than competitor cities No provincial levied payroll taxes; statutory benefits are approx. 4% of payroll in B.C. (about 50% lower than competitor cities in U.S.) Health care costs - a discretionary employer benefit in B.C. - are considerably lower compared to US Annual Health Care Costs (in US$) Vancouver, BC Seattle, WA San Francisco, CA Boston, MA Individual Family Individual Family Individual Family Individual Family Average* $798 $1,596 $4,250 $9,430 $3,998 $9,336 $4,548 $10,882 Source: PwC Research; March 2011. Assumes an exchange rate of CDN$ 1 = US$ 1 *Averages are calculated on PPO, HMO, HDHP, and POS plan coverages. 6
Advantage BC: Tax Incentives for International Business Qualifying activities Requirements for business Canadian incorporated Office in BC Register with the B.C. Government Join Advantage BC Benefits for business Refund of the 10% B.C. corporate income tax 15% corporate tax rate for registered businesses in 2012 (Federal tax only) Better environment to grow and expand 7
Abundant Low Cost Green Energy Over 90% of B.C. s electrical power is from clean renewable hydroelectricity B.C. will be energy self sufficient by 2016 All new generating projects will have ZERO net Greenhouse Gas Emissions 8
Outstanding Talent Highly educated, multilingual, young & energetic work force: High quality labour pool of 2.4 million people 2/3 of BC employees have post-secondary education Nearly half of all workers in B.C. are under the age of 40 9
Educated Workforce BC has 25 public post-secondary institutions 11 universities, 11 community colleges and 3 educational institutes BC s universities are consistently ranked high in International Academic ratings UBC is 22nd in the world UBC is ranked at 29th in Computer Science (Ahead of Yale, North Western, & Brown University and the National University of Singapore and University of Tokyo) Over 3,000 Engineering and Computer Science graduates each year Times Higher Education World University Ranking (Oct 6th, 2011) According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities 10
Simplified Work Permits, Expedited Immigration Work Permit applications can generally be processed in 6-8 weeks The BC Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): A tool that BC uses to choose permanent immigrants that meet our economic & labour market needs A distinct immigration visa class separate from the federal immigration classes Skills- helps BC employers attract and retain qualified foreign skilled workers, professionals and international students Entrepreneurs - considers applications from experienced entrepreneurs to invest and create jobs in BC 11
Pro-Business Government Committed to ensuring the best business climate in North America BC actively encourages investment by non-canadians, and places few restrictions on foreign investors Over 40% of all provincial regulations eliminated since 2001 Significant tax reduction and elimination since 2001 B.C. government has committed to return to balanced budget by 2013/14 12
Livability Vancouver is one of the most livable cities in the world Vancouver is ranked 3rd - Economist Intelligence Unit ranks 140 cities worldwide Condѐ Nast Magazine Award (Oct. 2010) Best City in the Americas Mercer Quality of Life Survey (December 2012) ranked Vancouver #5 worldwide / #1 in the Americas Economist Intelligence Unit's 2012 Liveability Ranking RANK CITY COUNTRY 1 Melbourne Australia 2 Vienna Austria 3 Vancouver Canada 4 Toronto Canada 5 Calgary Canada 6 Adelaide Australia 7 Sydney Australia 8 Helsinki Finland 9 Perth Australia 10 Auckland New Zealand 13
Robust Project Investment Activity in Lower Mainland Capital cost of all major projects already underway = $38 billion. Abbotsford Airport Expansion ($100 million) Interior to Lower Mainland Transmission Project ($725 million) Roberts Bank Container Expansion Program Terminal 2 and Deltaport 3rd Berth ($1.1 billion) YVR expansion/upgrading ($1.7 billion) SkyTrain Expansion Expo Line ($3.1 billion) South Fraser Perimeter Road ($1.2 billion) Telus Garden Communications Centre ($750 million) Evergreen Line ($1.4 billion) 14
LNG a significant economic driver LNG is important to BC and is a government priority B.C. s significant natural gas resource base will supply multiple GTL or LNG projects Only 1/3 of B.C. s shale gas or 400 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) could support LNG exports for over 80 years. B.C. is well positioned to export to Asia: Deep water ports in locations like Prince Rupert and Kitimat are ideally positioned for growth in LNG shipments to Asia A number of firms have announced prospective LNG terminals on the west coast of BC Four of the projects have announced potential pipeline plans or use of existing infrastructure 15
Competitive Environment for Capital Investment BC has unique royalty programs in place to strengthen the economics of capital investments made in the Province. The Infrastructure Royalty Credit Program (IRCP) facilitates the construction of new roads and pipelines by providing credits to the companies that build them. Since 2004, BC s IRCP has allocated over $840 million in infrastructure royalty credits to oil and gas companies As of October 31, 2012, the Program has resulted in the development of 82 new or upgraded all-season roads and 133 pipeline projects in BC. The Program is in direct support of British Columbia's Natural Gas Strategy. 16
Foreign Capital Expenditures by Industry Sector 17
Summary of Advantages to Locating in B.C. Strategic Gateway Location Duty-Free Access to North American Markets Low Corporate & Personal Income Taxes Focused Tax Incentives Cost Competitive Green, Low Cost Power Skilled Labour Force Excellent Public Infrastructure High Quality of Life Abundant Resources Commitment to export of LNG, as a new industry 18
Trade and Investment Offices Abroad British Columbia's has 11 trade and investment representative offices abroad 19
Contacts In Vancouver: Nina Cagic Ministry of International Trade Email: nina.cagic@gov.bc.ca In Italy: Marco D Arcangelo Email: mdarcangelo@britishcolumbia.ca 20
Thank you! www.britishcolumbia.ca