Revenue Statistics 2016 - Canada
Tax-to-GDP ratio
Tax-to-GDP ratio over time
The OECD’s annual Revenue Statistics report found that the tax-to-GDP ratio in Canada increased by 0.7 percentage
points, from 31.2% in 2014 to 31.9% in 2015. The corresponding figures for the OECD average were an increase of 0.1
percentage point from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period. Since the year 2000, the tax-to-GDP ratio in Canada has
decreased from 34.8% to 31.9%. Over the same period, the OECD average in 2015 was slightly above that in 2000
(34.3% compared with 34.0%).
Canada
%
35
OECD
34.8
34.0
33.5
34.3
34.2
34.1
33.6
33.2
33.2
32.6
32.5
33.7
33.4
33.2
33.1
32.3
33.8
33.8
32.2
32.4
32.1
31.7
33.0
32.4
32.0
32.6
31.9
30.6
31.0
31.2
31.0
30.5
30
Tax-to-GDP ratio compared to the OECD
Canada ranked 25th out of 35 OECD countries in terms of the tax-to-GDP ratio in 2015.* In 2015, Canada had a tax-toGDP ratio of 31.9% compared with the OECD average of 34.3%. In 2014, Canada was ranked 26th out of the 35 OECD
countries in terms of the tax-to-GDP ratio.
%
46.6
45.5 44.8
44.0 43.5 43.3 43.3
39.4
38.1 37.8
OECD average, 34.3%
▼
37.1 37.0 36.9 36.8 36.6 34.5 33.8 33.6 33.5
32.8 32.5 32.3 32.1 32.0 31.9
31.4
30.0 29.0
27.9 27.8
26.4
25.3
23.6
20.7
17.4
* Australia, Japan and Poland are unable to provide provisional 2015 data, therefore their latest 2014 data are presented within this country note.
In the OECD classification the term “taxes” is confined to compulsory unrequited payments to general government. Taxes are unrequited in the sense that benefits provided by
government to taxpayers are not normally in proportion to their payments.
Tax structures
Tax structure compared to the OECD average
The structure of tax receipts in Canada compared with the OECD average is shown in the figure below.
Canada
OECD unweighted average
%
36
26
24
20
15
11
14
12
9
13
9
6
2
Taxes on personal Taxes on corporate
income, profits and income and gains
gains
Social security
contributions
1
1
0
Payroll taxes
Taxes on property
Value Added
Taxes/Goods and
Services Tax
Taxes on goods
and services
(excluding
VAT/GST)
Other
Relative to the OECD average, the tax structure in Canada is characterised by:
Substantially higher revenues from taxes on personal income, profits and gains, and higher revenues from taxes on
»
corporate income and gains; payroll and property.
A lower proportion of revenues from taxes on value added taxes and goods and services (excluding VAT/GST), and
»
substantially lower revenues from taxes on social security contributions.
Tax structure
Tax Revenues in national currency
Tax structure in Canada
Canadian Dollar, millions
Position in OECD²
%
D
2014
2013
D
296 647
282 254
+ 14 393
48
48
-
4th
4th
-
Personal income, profits and gains
224 676
214 126
+ 10 550
36
36
-
5th
6th
+1
Corporate income and gains
65 151
62 754
+ 2 397
11
11
-
11th
10th
-1
Social security contributions
93 576
89 589
+ 3 987
15
15
-
30th
30th
-
Payroll taxes
12 595
12 353
+ 242
2
2
-
7th
7th
-
Taxes on property
72 592
70 604
+ 1 988
12
12
-
2nd
2nd
-
142 074
135 890
+ 6 183
23
23
-
32nd
32nd
-
83 623
79 099
+ 4 524
14
13
+1
31st
30th
-1
734
687
+ 47
-
-
-
30th
29th
-1
618 217
591 377
+ 26 841
100
100
-
-
-
-
2014
Taxes on income, profits and capital gains
D
2013
2014
2013
of which
Taxes on goods and services
of which VAT
Other¹
TOTAL
Tax revenue includes net receipts for all levels of government; figures in the table may not sum to the total indicated due to rounding.
1. Includes income taxes not allocable to either personal or corporate income.
2. The country with the highest share being 1st and the country with the lowest share being 35th.
Source: OECD Revenue Statistics 2016 http://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/revenue-statistics.htm
Contacts
David Bradbury
Michelle Harding
Michel Lahittete
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Head, Tax Policy and Statistics Division
[email protected]
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Head, Tax Data & Statistical Analysis Unit
[email protected]
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Statistician
[email protected]