Chennai, India, has displaced Vancouver as the world’s most competitive tax jurisdiction for a large international city, in a ranking released by KPMG this morning.
When KPMG last analyzed rankings two years ago, Vancouver came in first among major international cities.
However despite the comparative slip, Vancouver’s 2012 score on KPMG’s total tax index – which measures total taxes paid by corporations in a location – has improved this year.
Vancouver scored 49.2 this year on the index, shaving off 1.3 points from its 2010 score of 50.8 points. On the index, lower rankings are more desirable.
Outside of the major international cities list, Vancouver made slight gains against its rival Canadian cities, creeping up to sixth-best jurisdiction from seventh in 2010.
Outperforming Vancouver for tax competitiveness this year across the country are:
- Saskatoon (43.8)
- Edmonton (44.2)
- Moncton (45.1)
- St. John’s (45.4)
- Fredericton (45.5)
This year’s study found that Canada is the second most tax-competitive country after India among 14 major global economies. Besides Vancouver’s second place ranking internationally among peer cities, Toronto (fifth) and Montreal (sixth) also ranked in the world’s top 10 major international cities for tax competitiveness.
Elio Luongo, KPMG’s managing partner in the tax division, welcomed Canada’s ranking.
“Canada continues to offer a very competitive tax structure, which is crucial to attracting inbound investment, spurring innovation, and creating skilled jobs that support our families and communities in Canada.”
