Canada tops all G7 nations in ease of paying corporate taxes

Canada sits ninth overall in worldwide ranking

TORONTO, Jan. 20, 2015 /CNW/ - Canada continues to rank in the top 10 countries worldwide when it comes to the ease of paying corporate taxes, according to Paying Taxes 2015 – a joint study from PwC and the World Bank Group that reviews tax regimes in 189 economies around the world.

Amongst the G7, Canada sits in 1^st place well ahead of other members, and in the 9^th spot overall, with the United Kingdom ranked 16^th, and the United States ranked 47^th.

The study measures the overall ease of paying taxes for a hypothetical medium-sized domestic business by 1) measuring all business taxes paid out as a percentage of business profit 2) computing the amount of time invested to complete all the necessary tax filing, and 3) adding up the number of annual tax payments.

The objectives of the study are to compare tax systems on a like-for-like basis, identify good tax practises and reforms, and generate robust tax data that can be used to inform tax policy decisions.

"The results of this study are further confirmation that in Canada, there is ongoing tax policy support for small and medium-sized businesses," says Lincoln Schreiner, Tax Partner, PwC Canada. " A business-friendly policy environment makes more after-tax profits available for reinvestment in Canadian businesses, which reduces so-called tax red-tape and allows for more staff time to be focused on business operations and growth."  

Additional global highlights:

• Nearly half (43%) of the 189 economies that were measured now have electronic filing and payment systems which are used by the majority of companies.
• Central Asia and Eastern Europe continues to be the fastest reforming region, due to a major focus on improving administrative systems. All three sub-indicators have fallen with the number of payments and time to comply both now below the world average.
• Bolivia ranks last of 189 countries in the overall rankings, largely due to a total tax rate of 83.7% and the second-highest time to comply at 1025 hours.
• At 7.4%, total tax rate is lowest in Macedonia, while the time to comply is lowest in the United Arab Emirates (12 hours).

G7 Rankings
Economy	Rank	Tax Payments	Time to Comply (hrs)	TTR (%)
Canada	9	8	131	21.0
United Kingdom	16	8	110	33.7
United States	47	11	175	43.8
Germany	68	9	218	48.8
France	95	8	137	66.6
Japan	122	14	330	51.3
Italy	141	15	269	65.4

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About PwC Canada
PwC Canada helps organizations and individuals create the value they're looking for. More than 5,800 partners and staff in offices across the country are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax, consulting and deals services. PwC Canada is a member of the PwC network of firms with more than 195,000 people in 157 countries. Find out more by visiting us at www.pwc.com/ca.

© 2015 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an Ontario limited liability partnership. All rights reserved.

PwC refers to the Canadian member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

About the World Bank Group
The World Bank Group is one of the world's largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It comprises five closely associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Each institution plays a distinct role in the mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in the developing world. For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org, www.miga.org, and www.ifc.org.  

SOURCE PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Management Services LLP)

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