Scrapping my tax credit a vendetta: PKP fiancée
Snyder’s firm out millions as Liberals quash benefit
QUEBEC • With multimillionaire Pierre Karl Péladeau poised to take the helm of the opposition Parti Québécois next month, the Liberal government has set off a bitter feud with his celebrity fiancée, Julie Snyder.
The government scrapped a generous tax credit granted by the previous PQ government to Snyder’s production company, infuriating Snyder, who said she’s weighing legal action. She suggested the Liberals are acting out of spite because she’s engaged to the PQ front-runner.
The popular producer and host, who is a household name in Quebec, says her company’s survival is at risk.
“I, too, am allowed to earn a living,” Snyder told Le Devoir.
On Tuesday, Premier Philippe Couillard said the decision was made out of a spirit of fairness to other independent producers.
“The only reason this decision was made is to harmonize things and makes things equal, provide a level playing field for all the players in this environment,” Couillard said at a news conference to announce the party’s candidates for two upcoming byelections.
Péladeau, who is to marry Snyder this summer, refused to comment on the story.
“This is her business,” Péladeau told reporters. “She has been involved in television 25 years. It’s up to her to speak.”
The PQ government gave Snyder’s firm, les Productions J, the tax credit — which is worth millions of dollars — in the dying days of its 18 months in office in 2014.
The firm is closely tied to television network TVA, which is a major client for her company’s offerings and is owned by Peladeau’s Quebecor Inc. The credit was granted following an intense lobbying effort by Snyder and TVA, La Presse reported Monday.
Drawing on confidential government documents, La Presse reported nine specific times — either by letter or through personal meetings – that Péladeau or TVA lobbied on behalf of Productions J between February 2009 and September 2013 to get the credit.
The credit went against the position of the government’s own bureaucrats, who argued that since Production J’s main client was TVA and it is effectively linked to the network it does not qualify as an independent.
“We know that independent producers have a very different challenge from a producer that is linked to a broadcaster .... So the only objective that we were after was to create a level playing field. Everyone has the same advantages and chances,” said Couillard.
Couillard accused the previous PQ government of creating an unfair situation by changing the criteria for Snyder’s company.
Asked if the PQ played favourites, Couillard said: “I’m not going there. I’m just talking about today and what we need to do to provide more equity.”
In an interview with Le Devoir, Snyder reaffirmed her company’s independence from Quebecor.
But Coalition Avenir Québec leader François Legault said it’s “troubling” because the tax credit was destined for independent producers yet was extended by the PQ to someone who only sells her work to Québecor and TVA and is in a relationship with the owner on top of that, which connects them at a tax level.
The PQ’s Nicolas Marceau, who was finance minister when the rules were changed in the last days of that government, said a businesswoman should not be penalized for being in a relationship with a particular partner, especially in 2015.
“I don’t believe in the bedroom test,” Marceau said.
Couillard denied Snyder’s claims of discrimination and sexism.