Canada among countries most attractive to businesses—report

The KPMG study looked at the cost of industry essentials like taxes, labour, facilities, and transportation

In its latest report, auditing and accounting leader KPMG stated that Canada is among the most competitive countries for businesses based on the cost of industry essentials such as corporate income taxes, labour, facilities, and transportation.
 
Canada stood at the KPMG study as the second most attractive market among the world’s leading industrial economies, due in no small part to its continued affordability in the face of a high U.S. dollar.
 
Initial fears that a weak loonie would be disastrous for the still-recovering economy proved to be unfounded, as KPMG said that the currency actually served as “a driver in improving Canada’s competitiveness and overall cost advantage.”
 
Ever-growing commercial real estate costs and shrinking federal tax credit have not proven to be hindrances for Canada, which trailed just behind Mexico and blazed right ahead of The Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
 
As reported by the Financial Post, KPMG officials said that a shared factor among these top countries is the presence of generous tax incentives that lead to more robust high-tech and R&D sectors.
 
Traditional industry powerhouses such as Japan and United States went in dead last at the top 10 list.
 
In addition, the KPMG report noted that among Canadian cities, Fredericton, N.B. is currently the most cost-effective city to do business in. Rock-bottom property lease costs and low labour expenses contributed to this strength.
 
Other high-performance cities cited were Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, which all stood ahead of any city in the United States.