Canada's tax system ranks 28th in global ease of paying taxes survey

Tax reform remains on the agenda of governments despite economic downturn

TORONTO, Feb. 3 /CNW/ - Despite the economic downturn, government focus around the world has remained on tax reform, concludes a recent report released by the World Bank Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The report, Paying Taxes 2010 ranks the ease of paying taxes for mid-size domestic companies in 183 economies by using three indicators: the total tax rate (the cost of all taxes borne by the company); the time taken to comply with the major types of taxes, and the number of tax payments.

Paying Taxes 2010, finds that 45 economies made it easier to pay taxes, almost 25% more than in the previous year. Consistent with last year, Canada again ranked 28th out of the total 183 countries studied for its ease of paying taxes by scoring:

    
    - 103rd position in total tax rate,
    - 30th position in the time it takes to comply with the various laws, and
    - 21st position in the number of payments that need to be made.
    

"Government efforts to streamline tax procedures and reduce time spent on compliance can make an important difference for small and medium enterprises, especially in difficult economic times," says Lincoln Schreiner, Tax Services partner and leader of the Vancouver International Tax Services department with PwC.

The report measures the ease of paying taxes by assessing the administrative burden for companies to comply with tax regulations, and also by calculating a company's total tax liability as a percentage of pre-tax profits using the PricewaterhouseCoopers Total Tax Contribution framework.

"The global recession means falling tax revenues," says Schreiner. Governments are now thinking harder about the right balance between maintaining sufficient public revenues for the future and incentives that will continue to provide investment and economic growth in the private sector."

For more information, please visit www.pwc.com/ca/payingtaxes.

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For further information: Kiran Chauhan, [phone], [e-mail]