Thank you.
I have asked myself the same question and I also took part in a study commissioned by Harvard University on the matter. I took the annual reports of 50 of the largest Canadian companies ranked this year and calculated their effective tax rate. The effective tax rate is the true amount of taxes paid by multinational companies. The effective tax rate of Canadian multinational companies is the same as rates paid by SMEs.
SMEs represent 98% of Canadian companies. If we want SMEs to become major corporations one day, they must be given favourable tax rates. Along the same lines, it was also said that SMEs must assume additional costs. The future of globalization depends on our ability to transform SMEs into major corporations.
If SMEs are taxed at the same rate as Canadian multinational companies, we are creating an obstacle that they cannot overcome in order to become major companies. I have proof of this, because I analyzed the list of the 1,000 largest Canadian companies, ranked by the Globe and Mail. Since this was a major undertaking, I focused on only 200 of the largest Canadian companies on this list. Over the last 20 years, no SME, aside from Calfrac Well Services, has become a major corporation.
In analyzing tax rates for multinational companies, do not forget to put them into perspective with the tax rate paid by SMEs. SMEs also need a helping hand in this globalized society.