Canada: Tax Competition from the North

Canada’s Ministry of Finance has rolled out a nice set of tax measures for 2008. Some of the tastier morsels are excerpted below. The full report can be read here.

• An historic reduction in the general federal corporate income tax rate to 15 per cent by 2012, starting with a 1-percentage-point reduction in the rate in 2008 beyond already scheduled reductions.
• A reduction in the small business income tax rate to 11 per cent in 2008, one year earlier than scheduled.
• An increase in the lifetime capital gains exemption for small business owners, farmers and fishers to $750,000.
• A reduction in the tax remittance and filing requirements for small business.