Saskatchewan Corporate Tax Incentives: Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive (SCII)

Overview of the Saskatchewan Corporate Tax Incentives: Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive (SCII) program:

This program will reduce the provincial Corporate Income Tax rate for eligible corporations to six per cent for a period of 10 years—on taxable income earned from the commercialization of a broad range of qualifying types of intellectual property in Saskatchewan. This includes patents, plant breeders’ rights, trade secrets and copyright (computer programs and algorithms).

Benefits of the Saskatchewan Corporate Tax Incentives: Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive (SCII) program:

• The SCII helps to make Saskatchewan one of the best jurisdictions to commercialize exceptional intellectual property. Applicants may directly own the intellectual property or hold a recognized licence for the intellectual property and/or the related goods, services or processes. In addition to receiving a reduced corporate income tax rate of six per cent, eligible corporations will be entitled to:
• Choose when to begin the tax rebate period;
• Claim any other eligible tax incentive or grant Saskatchewan may offer without impacting SCII eligibility or impairing the ability to claim the SCII tax rebate; and
• Extend the SCII tax rebate terms to eligible cascading or forking* goods, services and processes.

Eligibility criteria of the Saskatchewan Corporate Tax Incentives: Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive (SCII) program:

• To qualify for the program, an applicant must meet the following requirements:
• A) Own or license qualifying intellectual property that is linked to the commercialization of new goods, services, or processes in Saskatchewan. The qualifying IP/good(s), service(s), and process(es) must meet one of the following definitions:
• The proposed innovation has as no equivalent in the Canadian marketplace or is an exceptional advance on the current state of the art in Canada;
• AND/OR,
• The proposed innovation has unique features and benefits that offer exceptional differentiation from current competitive offerings in the Canadian marketplace and is sufficiently unique that the potential exists to create a competitive advantage or create a new market niche.
• B) Establish/identify an eligible corporation where the only sources of revenue are related to the commercialization of the qualifying intellectual property.
• C) Demonstrate new economic benefits to Saskatchewan by meeting two of the five economic benchmarks (these can be accumulative over any period of time):
• $3 million in R&D expenditures in Saskatchewan (including labour costs) consisting of new R&D, existing R&D pertaining to the qualifying intellectual property, or a combination of new and existing R&D;
• 10 net new full-time employees;
• $10 million in net new capital expenditures;
• $3.5 million in new provincial CIT taxes paid; or
• Propose a new economic benefit benchmark as pre-approved by the Ministry of Trade and Export Development.