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Canadian Resources:

CCRA.gc.ca The Canada Revenue Agency was previously known as the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) until a federal government reorganization in December 2003 when it was decided to split the organization's customs and revenue responsibilities into separate organizations. Since then, Canada Border Services Agency is part of the Public Safety Canada portfolio to handle customs responsibilities.
 

The CCRA was short-lived, having been created in a November 1999 reorganization of the federal government where it had been known for many years under its statutory name the Department of National Revenue.

 

It was also referred to as Revenue Canada under the Federal Identity Program of the Treasury Board of Canada. To this day, most Canadians have continued to refer to the agency as "Revenue Canada" through its CCRA and CRA official designation periods.

 

CCRA.gc.ca (CRA.gc.ca - CRA-ARC.gc.ca) administers:

• Tax laws for the Government of Canada and for most provinces and territories

• International trade legislation

• Various social and economic benefit and incentive programs delivered through the tax system

• The registration of charities in Canada

• The Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Credit Program
   

Canadian Personal Income Taxes
Both the federal and provincial governments have imposed income taxes on individuals, and these are the most significant sources of revenue for those levels of government accounting for over 40% of tax revenue. The federal government charges the bulk of income taxes with the provinces charging a somewhat lower percentage. Income taxes throughout Canada are progressive with the high income residents paying a higher percentage than the low income residents.

Where income is earned in the form of a capital gain, only half of the gain is included in income for tax purposes; the other half is not taxed.

Federal and provincial income tax rates are shown at Canada Revenue Agency's website.

Personal income tax can be deferred in a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), a tax sheltered savings account or mutual fund that is intended to help individuals save for their retirement.

Canadian Corporate Taxes
Companies and corporations pay tax on profit income and on capital. These make up a relatively small portion of total tax revenue. Tax is paid on corporate income at the corporate level before it is distributed to individual shareholders as dividends. A tax credit is provided to individuals who receive dividend to reflect the tax paid at the corporate level. This credit does not eliminate double taxation of this income completely, however, resulting in a higher level of tax on dividend income than other types of income. (Where income is earned in the form of a capital gain, only half of the gain is included in income for tax purposes; the other half is not taxed.) Corporations may deduct the cost of capital following capital cost allowance regulations.

Starting in 2002, several large companies converted into "income trusts" in order to reduce or eliminate their income tax payments, making the trust sector the fastest-growing in Canada as of 2005. Conversions were largely halted on October 31, 2006, when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that new income trusts would be subject to a tax system similar to that of corporations, and that these rules would apply to existing income trusts after 2011.

 

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