The British Columbia government will not have an agreement on taxation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for at least another month, natural gas minister Rich Coleman said today in a press conference.
In early October, Premier Christy Clark had said her government was close to a taxation deal with the companies. But today, Coleman said he expects the income tax won’t be finalized until the end of December.
That’s because the government needs more time to negotiate with companies who have expressed interest in developing LNG. At the end of October, the B.C. government gave the companies 30 additional days to continue negotiating the rate.
“It’s always part of every discussion that somebody thinks that there might be a better conversation about price and delivery,” Coleman said. “That’s not unusual and there’s no difference in this particular discussion.”
The tax rate could make the difference between B.C.’s LNG industry being seen as worth developing, compared with other LNG hubs such as Australia and Qatar.
Coleman said his ministry would be reviewing the province’s “competitiveness matrix” and sharing that information in ongoing talks with the potential LNG proponents.
“At this point we’re seeing a matrix that clearly shows that where we’re close to landing will make us competitive with other jurisdictions in the world,” Coleman said.
While Coleman’s ministry will recommend the income tax rate for LNG, it will be up to the Ministry of Finance to introduce the legislation for the rate, likely when the budget is introduced in the spring of 2014.
For a full list of LNG projects in B.C., click here.
