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Effective January 1, 2006, the International Financial Activity Act (IFAA) was expanded to include refunds of up to 75% of provincial corporate income taxes on income from certain life science patents (to a maximum of $8 million). In 2008, the list of eligible patents was expanded to include green-related patents.
Qualifying Activities under the IFAA
- Selling, assigning or licensing a patent, within a prescribed class of patents, to a non-resident is an eligible activity.
- Selling a good or service to a non-resident where the sales revenue is principally derived from an invention for which a patent, within a prescribed class of patents, is owned by the corporation is also eligible under the International Financial Activity (IFA) program.
Benefits and Additional Information
- The complete and most current list of the eligible patents (by IPC code) can be found on the website of the BC Ministry of Small Business and Revenue, but this is a representative list. Please verify the patent with the Ministry.
Item |
Section |
Class(es) |
Subclass(es) |
Group |
LIFE SCIENCE |
1 |
A |
01 |
H |
|
1 |
A |
01 |
N |
1/00, 1/02, 3/00 |
3 |
A |
61 |
|
|
4 |
C |
02 |
F |
3/00 |
5 |
C |
07 and 08 |
|
|
6 |
C |
12 |
M,N, P, Q |
|
7 |
C |
12 |
S |
3/00, 3/20, 3/22 and 3/24 |
8 |
G |
01 |
N |
33/02, 33/03, 33/04, 33/08, 33/12, 33/15, 33/48, 33/483,
33/487, 33/49, 33/493, 33/497, and 33/50 |
GREEN RELATED |
7.1 |
E |
02 |
B |
9/08 |
7.2 |
F |
03 |
B |
13/06, 13/08, 13/10, 13/12, 13/14, 13/16, 13/18, 13/20, 13/22, 13/24/13/26 |
7.3 |
F |
03 |
D |
|
7.4 |
F |
03 |
G |
4/00 AND, 6/00 |
7.5 |
F |
24 |
J |
2/00 AND 3/00 |
9 |
H |
01 |
L |
31/04 |
- Income earned on the registered patent activity can qualify for up to a 75% refund of corporate provincial income taxes paid up to a maximum of $8 million.
- IFA Specialists do not qualify for this activity.
Other reasons to locate in BC
Operating costs of a biotechnology business in Vancouver compare favourably with other cities. Consider salaries of specialized personnel in competing cities:
Total Compensation for a Biomedical Engineering Head
| City |
Compensation |
| Vancouver, BC |
$77,000 |
| Portland, OR |
$85,910 |
| San Diego, CA |
$92,289 |
| Seattle, WA |
$92,805 |
| San Francisco, CA |
$100,174 |
(WSJ.com, 2008, $1 CAD = $1 USD)
- Add in savings on provincial income taxes, and the cost of doing business in Vancouver is far below
costs in competing cities.
- $1.2 billion in construction has been completed on the UBC campuses, including the new Life Sciences Centre and the Michael Smith Biotechnology Laboratories.
- The new ICORD spinal research centre, expected to be completed in 2008, will house the largest spinal cord research facility in the world.
- There are more than 100 core biotechnology firms in British Columbia, employing 3,700 people.
- Numerous programs exist for research grants and funding opportunities from federal, provincial, and private sources.
Registering A Business
To be eligible to register under the IFA program, a company’s international financial business must be part of an active business and carried on through an office in British Columbia. Further details on the IFA program can be found in Bulletin IFA 001, International Financial Activity Overview. Details on Life Sciences can be found in Bulletin IFA 002, Life Science Patents.
The IFA program is administered by the BC Ministry of Small Business and Revenue, Revenue Programs Division, Income Taxation Branch. For more information regarding the legislation or provincial registration, please visit their website.
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