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British Columbia's business temptation: an opaque array of tax breaks

The incentives operate under a cloak of secrecy, critics say, and that they have not benefited the province through job creation

Vancouver

BRITISH Columbia is well known for its spectacular landscape and outdoorsy living, its swanky urban real estate and bouillabaisse of cultures.

A fact not so well known? It has a sweet deal for businesses, offering them tax breaks in an unusually opaque arrangement.

Like many places, British Columbia set up a system of tax incentives to lure businesses to the far western Canadian province in the hopes of creating jobs and transforming Vancouver into a global financial center.

But if the programme has been good for business, it's been less beneficial for British Columbia.

Participating companies have created few jobs, according to government figures, while more than C$140 million (S$144 million)...

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