Canada Set For Corporate Tax Cuts

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

30 December 2010

The Canadian Minister for Finance, Jim Flaherty has highlighted tax relief measures due to come into force on January 1, 2011.

“The economy remains our government’s number one priority,” Flaherty said. “If we want more jobs, higher wages and an improved standard of living, Canada needs to be the most attractive place for job creators to do business and invest."

Flaherty confirmed that the general corporate income tax rate will be cut from 18% to 16.5% from January 1, 2011. It will then be reduced to 15% from January 1, 2012. These rate reductions, the Minister said, will decrease the cost of capital and increase the rate of return on investment, encourage firms to invest more in all sectors of the Canadian economy.

“Since 2007, Canadian businesses have been investing with the knowledge that the government is delivering substantial tax relief,” continued Minister Flaherty. “As a result of federal and provincial tax changes, Canada now has an overall tax rate on new business investment that is substantially lower than that in any other Group of Seven (G-7) country. That’s good news for jobs and economic growth.”

To strengthen Canada’s business tax advantage, the government of Canada has undertaken many initiatives, including through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, to improve business competitiveness and make Canada a more attractive place to invest, Flaherty said. In addition to reducing the federal general corporate income tax rate, the government eliminated the federal capital tax in 2006 and the corporate surtax in 2008. In Budget 2010, the ability of Canadian businesses to attract foreign venture capital was improved by narrowing the definition of taxable Canadian property, thereby eliminating the need for tax reporting under section 116 of the Income Tax Act for many investments.

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