Canada reigns as one of the most competitive countries in the world when it comes to paying taxes.
In a recent KPMG study, three of Canada’s major cities—Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal—ranked in the top 10 among 55 major international cities for offering better rates to businesses and residents.
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All locations included in the study were graded based on the total amount of taxes faced by their companies, including corporate income, capital, sales and property taxes.
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“The study makes international comparisons based on the results of different business scenarios,” says Elio Luongo, Canadian managing partner of Tax at KPMG in Canada.
“Canada continues to offer a very competitive structure, which is crucial to attracting inbound investment, spurring innovation, and creating jobs.”
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Canada also ranked as the most tax-efficient country in the global, mature market; all of Canadian major cities ranked ahead of the U.S. cities observed.
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The study finds Brazil, Russia, India and China are currently the top high-growth countries on the global stage.
Forbes’ reminds, though, “there is some wiggle room in the study, with tax burdens across the globe varying by industry, the underlying cost of doing business and by how the taxes are weighted in each region.”
See charts below for more info:
Canada vs. the Globe
Overall rankings and total tax cost indices for featured countries
(Listed by market type from lowest Total Tax Index (TTI)** to highest TTI) |
||||
Overall
2012 Rank |
Mature or
High Growth Rank |
Country | 2012
Total Tax Index** |
% tax cost
advantage versus US |
High Growth Market | ||||
1 | 1 | India | 49.7 | 50.3% |
3 | 2 | China | 59.7 | 40.3% |
4 | 3 | Mexico | 63.6 | 36.4% |
5 | 4 | Russia | 71.7 | 28.3% |
11 | 5 | Brazil | 142.6 | -42.6% |
Mature Market | ||||
2 | 1 | Canada | 59.1 | 40.9% |
6 | 2 | United Kingdom | 73.3 | 26.7% |
7 | 3 | Netherlands | 77.2 | 22.8% |
8 | 4 | United States | 100.0 | 0.0% |
9 | 5 | Germany | 122.0 | -22.0% |
10 | 6 | Australia | 125.1 | -25.1% |
12 | 7 | Japan | 152.3 | -52.3% |
13 | 8 | Italy | 152.9 | -52.9% |
14 | 9 | France | 179.7 | -79.7% |
**Total tax costs are compared between countries and cities using a TTI for each location. The TTI is a measure of the total taxes paid by corporations in a particular location, expressed as a percentage of total taxes paid by corporations in the United States (US). The U.S .has a TTI of 100.0, which represents the benchmark against which the other countries and cities are scored. For example, an overall index number of 59.1 means total tax costs are 40.9 percent lower in that country than in the United States.
Ranking of Canadian cities
Overall rankings and total tax cost indices for featured Canadian cities
(Listed from lowest Total Tax Index (TTI) to highest TTI) |
||||||
2012
Rank |
City | 2012 Total
Tax Index |
2012
Rank |
City | 2012 Total
Tax Index |
|
1 | Saskatoon | 43.8 | 9 | Trois-Rivières | 53.8 | |
2 | Edmonton | 44.2 | 10 | Prince George | 54.2 | |
3 | Moncton | 45.1 | 11 | Charlottetown | 54.4 | |
4 | St. John’s | 45.4 | 12 | Winnipeg | 54.7 | |
5 | Fredericton | 45.5 | 13 | Toronto | 56.0 | |
6 | Vancouver | 49.2 | 14 | Windsor-Essex | 56.8 | |
7 | Halifax | 49.4 | 15 | Montréal | 62.1 | |
8 | Calgary | 50.7 | 16 | Québec City | 62.8 |