When migrating to other places people first look into several aspects in the said country or city.
Most people get concerned about the cost of living. This encompasses the cost of housing, utilities, transportation, and more importantly taxes. Taxes really matter to a lot of people, especially that it eats a huge portion of one?s salary or income. Therefore, majority of migrants study the tax policy of a certain pace before deciding to move into the prospective city.
One of the most competitive cities in terms of taxes is the city of Edmonton, in Canada’s Alberta province. A research was conducted to compare the total costs of taxes faced by companies in 107 international cities across 10 countries. The report showed that the city of Edmonton offered the lowest tax costs among all the cities compared.
According to one of the largest auditing companies, KPMG, Edmonton offers an astonishing 18% tax advantage over the next closest US cities, such as Houston and New Orleans. Furthermore, the company justified that the probable reason for this is because Edmonton offers low tax effect rates for both labor-based and corporate taxes. This city strives to as much as possible, guarantee a business-friendly tax milieu without conceding the quality of services and infrastructure supporting the city.
There are several reasons why the city of Edmonton is among the most competitive cities in terms of taxes. One of which is because they strive to offer low cost taxes. Thus, the city of Edmonton is able to offer a lot of cost advantages that are not being offered in other cities across the globe. The advantages enjoyed by Edmonton residents include the following:
- There is no provincial payroll, sales or capital taxes collected.
- The city only collects 10% provincial corporate tax.
- The health care system is publicly funded. Thus, payroll costs are kept at a minimum.
- The city does not charge machinery and equipment taxes or better known as M&E taxes.
- They also offer the lowest property taxes, charged per square foot in six major Canadian centers.
- The city does not charge municipal business taxes except for selected business renewal zones.
These are some of the tax advantages the city of Edmonton offer. Because of these tax advantages, the city of Edmonton was ranked among the competitive cities in terms of low tax rates. Moreover, people find the city a suitable place to migrate to, work, and do business.
