For SMEs, it’s easy to pay taxes in Canada! This is what the PwC firm and the World Bank Group state, in the twelfth edition of the Paying Taxes study, conducted in 190 countries.
Fulfilling your tax obligations is undoubtedly one of the set of universal constants. It doesn’t matter where or when, there’s no way to escape it! But with regards to the tax and contribution rate, the time spent preparing their tax return and the number of tax payments made annually, Canadian SMEs are getting off scot-free, in comparison with the situation of their colleagues elsewhere on the globe.
The annual ranking by PwC and the World Bank Group ranks the country 16th in terms of ease of paying taxes. Notably, Canada ranks first of the G7 countries, as shown in the chart opposite.
In terms of the criteria used to establish this ranking, Canada is also in good shape. In fact, SMEs in the country spend an average of 131 hours each year on tax-related tasks, almost half the world average (240 hours). In Canada, there are eight tax payments per year, compared to 24 for all of the countries considered. And even better news – the total tax and contribution rate for our small and medium enterprises, at 20.9%, is still only half the average of the 190 countries sampled (40.5%).
Admittedly, the idea of filing a tax return does not generally arouse great enthusiasm. But in the light of these data, our Canadian SMEs can only reminisce about the old adage, “One compares oneself to console oneself… “