Industry in detail
Insurers' tax contributions
Canadian life and health insurers contributed
$9.3 billion in taxes
In 2022, insurance companies' contributions to Canada's tax base included $3 billion paid
to the federal government and $6.3 billion paid to provincial and territorial governments.
Of the total, $4.8 billion was borne directly by insurers, and $4.5 billion was collected and
paid as provincial sales taxes on life and health insurance and as employees' share of
payroll taxes.
Distribution of total tax contributions
Taxes borne:
$
4.8B
Corporate income tax &
federal capital tax: $1.5B
Provincial premium
tax: $1.9B
Payroll & other taxes
borne: $1.4B
Taxes borne are taxes paid by
insurers directly to governments.
$
9.3B
2022 total tax
contributions
Taxes collected:
$
4.5B
Federal payroll taxes
collected: $1.5B
Provincial retail sales tax
on premiums: $3B
Taxes collected are taxes
that insurers collected from
customers and employees and
paid to governments on their
behalf.
The
industry's
2022 total tax
contribution to all
levels of government
in Canada was 60%
higher than its share
of Canada's GDP
>50%
of total tax
contributions are
premium-based
taxes*
* The industry's contribution is especially high for health insurance, accounting for over 50% of value-add generated.
See Piling On - How Provincial Taxation of Insurance Premiums Costs Consumers, C.D. Howe Institute.
Canadian Life & Health Insurance Facts // 2023 Edition
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