Revenue Statistics 2018 - 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 decreased by 0.5 percentage
points, from 32.7% in 2016 to 32.2% in 2017. The corresponding figures for the OECD average were an increase of 0.2
percentage points from 34.0% to 34.2% over the same period. The tax-to-GDP ratio in Canada has decreased from
34.8% in 2000 to 32.2% in 2017. Over the same period, the OECD average in 2017 was slightly above that in 2000
(34.2% compared with 33.8%). During that period the highest tax-to-GDP ratio in Canada was 34.8% in 2000, with the
lowest being 30.9% in 2011.

Canada OECD average

%
35
34.8
34.2 34.2
34.0
33.8 33.7
33.5 33.6 33.6
33.3 33.2 33.4 33.4
33.0 32.9 32.9 33.1
32.9
32.8 32.8 32.8 32.8 32.6 32.6 32.7 32.7
32.4
32.3 32.2
32.2

31.3 31.3 31.2 31.3

31.1
30.9

30

Tax-to-GDP ratio compared to the OECD, 2017

Canada ranked 24th out of 36 OECD countries in terms of the tax-to-GDP ratio in 2017. In 2017, Canada had a tax-to-
GDP ratio of 32.2% compared with the OECD average of 34.2%. In 2016, Canada was ranked 22nd out of the 36 OECD
countries in terms of the tax-to-GDP ratio.

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%

46.2 46.0
44.6 44.0
43.3 42.4 OECD average, 34.2%
41.8
39.4 38.8 38.7 38.2 37.7 37.7 37.5
36.0 34.9
34.7 33.9 33.7
33.3 33.0 32.9 32.7 32.2
32.0
30.6 30.4 29.8
28.5 27.8
27.1 26.9
24.9
22.8
20.2
16.2

* Australia and Japan are unable to provide provisional 2017 data, therefore their latest 2016 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 average

%

36

26
24
20
15 14
12 13
11
9 9
6
2 1 1
0
Taxes on personal Taxes on corporate Social security Payroll taxes Taxes on property Value Added Taxes on goods Other
income, profits and income and gains contributions Taxes/Goods and and services
gains Services Tax (excluding
VAT/GST)
Relative to the OECD average, the tax structure in Canada is characterised by:
Substantially higher revenues from taxes on personal income, profits & gains, and higher revenues from taxes on
»
corporate income & gains; payroll taxes; and property taxes.
A lower proportion of revenues from value-added taxes and goods & services taxes (excluding VAT/GST), and
»
substantially lower revenues from social security contributions.

Tax structure Tax Revenues in national currency Tax structure in Canada Position in OECD²

Canadian Dollar, millions %

2016 2015 D 2016 2015 D 2016 2015 D
Taxes on income, profits and capital gains¹ 318 111 314 897 + 3 214 48 48 - 5th 5th -
of which
Personal income, profits and gains 241 500 240 295 + 1 204 36 37 -1 5th 5th -
Corporate income and gains 69 961 67 959 + 2 003 11 10 +1 12th 13th +1
Social security contributions 98 934 96 416 + 2 518 15 15 - 30th 30th -
Payroll taxes 13 898 13 313 + 585 2 2 - 7th 7th -
Taxes on property 79 692 76 878 + 2 813 12 12 - 3rd 3rd -
Taxes on goods and services 154 550 149 701 + 4 849 23 23 - 33rd 33rd -
of which VAT 89 915 86 008 + 3 907 14 13 +1 32nd 33rd +1
Other 685 687 - 2 - - - 30th 30th -
TOTAL 665 870 651 893 + 13 977 100 100 - - - -
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 36th.
Source: OECD Revenue Statistics 2018 http://oe.cd/revenue-statistics

Contacts
David Bradbury Michelle Harding
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Head, Tax Policy and Statistics Division Head, Tax Data & Statistical Analysis Unit
David.Bradbury@oecd.org Michelle.Harding@oecd.org