Ottawa

CANADIAN Prime Minister Stephen Harper, seeking re-election in October, is bringing back a slimmed-down version of a popular tax credit on home renovations.

The permanent, 15 per cent annual credit would apply to renovations between C$1,000 and C$5,000, for a total cost of C$1.5 billion (S$1.58 billion), Mr Harper said on Tuesday in Toronto, though he did not say when it would take effect. The original programme was introduced in 2009 with a C$10,000 cap, and a total cost of C$3 billion, before it expired in 2010.