- published: 10 Nov 2014
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Taxation in Canada is a shared responsibility between the federal government and the various provincial and territorial legislatures. Under the Constitution Act, 1867, taxation powers are vested in the Parliament of Canada under s. 91(3) for:
The provincial legislatures have a more restricted authority under ss. 92(2) and 92(9) for:
In turn, the provincial legislatures have authorized municipal councils to levy specific types of direct tax, such as property tax.
The powers of taxation are circumscribed by ss. 53 and 54 (both extended to the provinces by s. 90), and 125, which state:
Since the 1930 Supreme Court of Canada ruling in Lawson v. Interior Tree Fruit and Vegetables Committee of Direction, taxation is held to consist of the following characteristics:
In order for a tax to be validly imposed, it must meet the requirements of s. 53 of the Constitution Act, 1867, but the authority for such imposition may be delegated within certain limits. Major J noted in Re Eurig Estate:
Coordinates: 60°N 95°W / 60°N 95°W / 60; -95
Canada (i/ˈkænədə/; French: [ka.na.da]) is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres (3.85 million square miles), making it the world's second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area. Canada's border with the United States is the world's longest land border. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land territory being dominated by forest and tundra and the Rocky Mountains; about four-fifths of the country's population of 35 million people live near the southern border. The majority of Canada has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer.
The land now called Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the 15th century, British and French colonies were established on the Atlantic coast, with the first establishment of a region called "Canada" occurring in 1537. As a consequence of various conflicts, the United Kingdom gained and lost territories within British North America until left, in the late 18th century, with what mostly geographically comprises Canada today. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1, 1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia joined to form the autonomous federal Dominion of Canada. This began an accretion of provinces and territories to the self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. In 1931, Canada achieved near total independence from the United Kingdom with the Statute of Westminster 1931, and full sovereignty was attained when the Canada Act 1982 removed the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the British parliament.
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