Abstract
This Selected Issues paper reviews Canada’s business tax system, looking at the incentive effects of the country’s business tax regime and their implications for output and employment. It presents estimates of marginal effective tax rates on corporate-source income in Canada and comparator countries across sectors, asset classes, means of finance, and asset ownership. The paper also examines labor markets in Canada. It notes that unemployment rates in Canada have risen across all demographic groups, industries, and regions, although young and less-educated workers and workers in agriculture and primary industries have been most severely affected.
VIII. Official Development Assistance
1. Canada’s official development assistance (ODA) to developing countries and multilateral institutions, measured on a Development Assistance Committee (DAC) basis totaled US$2,311 million in 1995 or 0.42 percent of GNP, compared with 0.43 percent in 1994 and 0.45 percent in 1993 (see tabulation below). The Government is committed to reaching a target for ODA of 0.7 percent over time, as Canada’s fiscal situation permits.
Canada: Official Development Assistance 1/
Includes traditional ODA measured on a DAC basis, and excludes aid programs for transition economies.
Canada: Official Development Assistance 1/
| 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In billions of U.S. dollars) | ||||||
| Total | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| Bilateral | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Multilateral | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| (In percent of GMP) | ||||||
| Total | 0.44 | 0.45 | 0.46 | 0.45 | 0.43 | 0.42 |
| Bilateral | 0.30 | 0.31 | 0.31 | 0.30 | 0.28 | 0.29 |
| Multilateral | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.15 | 0.15 | 0.15 | 0.13 |
| (In percent of total ODA) | ||||||
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Bilateral | 68 | 69 | 68 | 67 | 65 | 69 |
| Multilateral | 32 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 35 | 31 |
Includes traditional ODA measured on a DAC basis, and excludes aid programs for transition economies.
Canada: Official Development Assistance 1/
| 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In billions of U.S. dollars) | ||||||
| Total | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| Bilateral | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Multilateral | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| (In percent of GMP) | ||||||
| Total | 0.44 | 0.45 | 0.46 | 0.45 | 0.43 | 0.42 |
| Bilateral | 0.30 | 0.31 | 0.31 | 0.30 | 0.28 | 0.29 |
| Multilateral | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.15 | 0.15 | 0.15 | 0.13 |
| (In percent of total ODA) | ||||||
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Bilateral | 68 | 69 | 68 | 67 | 65 | 69 |
| Multilateral | 32 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 35 | 31 |
Includes traditional ODA measured on a DAC basis, and excludes aid programs for transition economies.
2. ODA priorities are concentrated within six categories; (1) basic human needs; (2) women in development; (3) infrastructure services; (4) human rights, democracy, and good governance; (5) private sector development; and (6) the environment. Countries in Africa receive the highest share of Canadian ODA, although countries in Asia and the Americas continue to receive support. The intention is to expand assistance in those sectors that are important to both Canada and the developing countries, such as agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Canada also maintains an active program of assistance to Central and Eastern Europe and countries in the former Soviet Union.