Nova Scotia animation tax credit mysteriously gets less generous

Nova Scotia's Finance Minister Diana Whalen is scrambling to explain changes to a deal the province announced on Wednesday.

The agreement was reached after "very productive discussions with the animation industry," according to a news release issued midday Wednesday.

• Nova Scotia animators land better tax credit than filmmakers

Both the release and a fact sheet posted on the Finance Department's website touted an extra 25 per cent bonus on eligible animation labour-related costs.

That "bonus" was supposed to be in addition to the 25 per cent rebate for production costs in the province.

But by Thursday, the fact sheet has been changed to reflect a less generous labour-related bonus.

"A 25 per cent bonus on 50 per cent of animation-related labour will apply," said the department fact sheet.

Asked about the change after it was brought up by Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie during question period, Whalen was at a loss.

"If there was confusion on our part from the press release, we'll certainly be addressing that, but the important thing is that really at the end of the day we're at a place that is good for the animation industry," she said.

"We want to make sure that they also understand it the same way. So we're going to go and work out why there is confusion."

Baillie called it a deliberate attempt to mislead Nova Scotians.

"I was willing to believe that they had just made a mistake and they would fix it," said Baillie. "Now we know that they are just incompetent and have made a mess of a very important and growing industry."