Quebec seeks to bolster Internet penetration with tax credits and subsidies

The Quebec government is offering a $15-million incentive package for companies that bring fibre and coaxial cable networks to less populated regions of the province. Announced as part of its March 14 budget, Quebec is committing a total of $340 million to improve the province's high-speed networks, and to get families online and businesses into e-commerce. The main perk for telecom carriers is the introduction of a 125% accelerated depreciation rate over the next five years. The credit applies to networks that are built in all Quebec regions, excluding Montreal, Laval and the Communauté urbaine de Québec. The measure will cost the government $9 million over three years ($2 million, $4 million and $3 million respectively), and $15 million over five years. "Through this fiscal measure, the Québec government is ensuring that the developed services of the information highway will be available in all Québec's regions," states a report entitled Québec On Line, released as part of the budget package. The report goes on to note that "the granting of accelerated depreciation for the deployment of ‘developed' networks in the regions will directly stimulate the demand for fibre-optics, the suppliers of which are located upstream from the industry. Hence, this measure should have a direct, and particularly interesting, impact on Québec businesses in this sector of activity." Quebec currently lags behind the rest of North America in utilizing the Internet and e-commerce. Québec On Line notes that the province is one to two years of network growth behind the three other largest provinces in the country. The accelerated depreciation measure is part of the province's overall strategy to improve the province's Internet infrastructure, and to get more Quebec families and businesses online. One of the more notable initiatives is a new program that subsidizes the cost of linking families to the Internet. The two-pronged initiative offers two kinds of assistance: a package that includes the rental of a personal computer and Internet access and a second plan that offers Internet access alone through a television set or a PC. Families eligible for the program are entitled to financial assistance equal to 75 per cent of the cost of either of the packages. The maximum assistance given for the PC and Inter-net access plan is $450 per year for a family, while the limit for Internet access alone is $200 each year. The program will be available to eligible families who sign on to the Internet between May 1 and March 31, 2001. The aid will be paid as a monthly rebate to households from suppliers which are reimbursed by the government each month. A separate initiative will see small- and medium-sized businesses receive a refundable tax credit of up to $40,000 to develop e-commerce sites. The subsidy represents 40 percent of the expenses incurred to create the sites. A total of $126 million has been set aside over three years. The government expects 10,000 firms will benefit from the assistance. Connected to this plan is an outlay of $15 million over three years to ensure online transactions between the government and the public are secure and confidential. The province is also providing the Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor with an additional $45 million over three years. The money is intended to help modernize the provision of government services, specifically secure infrastructures that go hand-in-hand with new information technologies.

Quebec seeks to bolster Internet penetration with tax credits and subsidies

News | 03/27/2000 5:00 am EST

To keep reading, get a free trial.

Already a Subscriber?

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us