BDO LLP | INTERNATIONAL TECH HUB
08
Canada has a very open stance towards immigration, as a result of which there are populations from countries and ethnic groups the world over. It’s wonderful during the football World Cup, for example – whichever team wins a game, there’s always a celebration somewhere! ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC TAX OR ACCOUNTING PARTICULARITIES TO BE AWARE OF? One point to make here – and which often comes as a surprise to European countries – is that we have no statutory audit requirements in Canada. So you don’t need to file your financial statements with any organisation and you don’t need to have a statutory audit, all of which is very similar to the regime in the US. Canada’s corporate tax rate is also one of the lowest among international business destinations. From an accounting perspective, you can use local GAAP if you’re a private company, but everyone here is also very familiar with US GAAP and IFRS as well. If you’re looking to move business into Canada, the conversation always needs to start with a clear understanding of your goals, and then the focus of advice and regulatory efforts follows from that. Some tech companies just want to set up an R&D centre, for example, so the area of incentives becomes really important. In other cases, you might have SaaS-based operation, with people on the ground floor who are helping to sell the service, so tax on profits is more in play. We may also need to look at the structure of the entity, with a view to scaling the structure in line with the business’ growth and perhaps a planned path to exit. As always, it’s a matter of seeking bespoke advice in light of your plans for the future operations of the entity.
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