 |
|
 |
|
|
MEDIA ADVISORY Extension Of Mineral Exploration Tax Credit Welcomed By Canada’s Mineral Industry Toronto, March 20, 2007 – In its budget yesterday, the federal government announced its intention to renew the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for one year to March 31, 2008. This is welcome news for Canada’s mineral exploration industry and for Canadian investors. The program, more commonly termed ‘super’ flow-through in investment circles, provides investors with a 15% credit on flow-through share investments in grassroots exploration. As noted in the budget, the one-year “look back” rule will allow funds raised with the benefit of the credit in 2008, for example, to be spent on eligible exploration activity up until the end of the 2009. The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), together with other Canadian associations in the mineral exploration sector, has been urging the federal government to renew this important program before its scheduled expiry at the end of March. “The high demand for commodities at the present time is driving the search for minerals across the world,” stated PDAC President Patricia Dillon. “As a consequence, there is intense global competition for exploration dollars. This tax credit, which can be applied only to exploration in Canada, gives Canada a competitive edge and encourages Canadian investors to put money into one of this country’s most important resource industries.” Dillon also pointed out that, in order for Canada to be able to meet global demand for commodities over the next decade, sustained levels of exploration are required to find new mineral reserves in this country. This tax incentive will certainly help towards that end. In congratulating the federal government for renewing the tax credit program, Dillon expressed her association’s disappointment in the absence of any funding commitment to the Cooperative Geological Mapping Strategies, a ten-year geoscience strategy for Canada agreed to by federal and provincial mines ministers in 2000. This is an urgently needed program that would improve the quality and extent of geological mapping in Canada, particularly in northern and remote areas of the country. “Funding geological mapping is an investment, not an expense,” she noted. “Canada has a large land mass and requires continuous renewal and improvement to our geoscience knowledge base. This is critical in the effort to replenish our declining reserves of base metals and contributes in important ways in the areas of environmental decision-making, sovereignty and public safety.” The PDAC will continue to urge the federal government to fund this program. The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada is a national trade association for the Canadian exploration sector, representing companies and individuals active in the search for and development of mineral deposits. The association annually hosts the largest exploration and mining convention in the world in Toronto. In March 2007, the event attracted a record 17,600 attendees representing more than 100 countries. For more information, contact: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
