Carney says investment tax incentive expansion is a “mega deduction”

The federal government is expanding a tax incentive aimed at boosting new business investment.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the “productivity mega deduction” during the Canada Investment Summit underway in Toronto, building on a measure introduced in budget 2025.

Ottawa is making immediate expensing permanent on a broader range of investments in a move that’s expected to have a fiscal cost of $36 billion over five years, starting this year.

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Immediate expensing is a measure that allows businesses to fully write off the cost of an investment in the year that it becomes available for use.

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The deduction will now apply to more than 65 per cent of investments in a wider array of eligible capital assets from roughly 15 per cent in the previous year’s budget.

The government says the move lowers Canada’s marginal effective tax rate on new business investment to 6.4 per cent from 13 per cent.