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It Costs Less to do Business in Central Alberta
It is 2.2 per cent more cost effective to do business in the Red Deer Region than the Canadian average and 2.8 per cent more effective than the United States, according to KPMG's 2008 Competitive Alternatives study.
Competitive Alternatives; KPMG's Guide to International Business Location compares business costs for 136 cities in ten countries: Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The four business areas used in the study were manufacturing, research and development, software and corporate services. The results were determined using recent exchange rates with the Canadian dollar valued at U.S. $1, up 17.4 per cent from 2006. Using the United States as a baseline, Mexico is the lowest-cost country with a cost advantage of 20.5 per cent. Canada is second with a marginal 0.6 per cent cost advantage over the United States.
Red Deer had an overall business cost of 97.2 per cent compared to the U.S. baseline of 100.0 and showed the strongest cost advantage in the following industry sectors:
- Product testing - electronic system development and testing (89.3 per cent)
- Advanced software design (90.3 per cent)
- Web and multimedia content development (92.4 per cent)
- Clinical trials management (92.7 per cent)
- Biotech and Biomedical research and development (93.3 per cent)
The study reinforces the Red Deer Regions strategic business location at the centre of the Calgary/Edmonton corridor. It is 4.8 per cent more cost effective for a business to operate in the Region compared to Calgary and 2.7 per cent more cost effective than operating in Edmonton.
The Red Deer Region is also ranked seventh out of 25 major western Canadian cities.
For more information, please refer to the KPMG 2008 Competitive Alternatives Study.
Municipal tax rates vary among Central Alberta communities. Some communities do not have a business tax.
Alberta has one of the most competitive tax environments in North America:
- Alberta is the only province that does not have a provincial retail sales tax.
- Alberta has a competitive corporate tax rate for manufacturers.
- The combined federal/provincial corporate income tax rate is 32.12% for general businesses and 16.12% for small businesses.
- Alberta has no provincial capital or payroll taxes, which are common in many other provinces and U.S. states.
View Alberta - Canada's website for details on Alberta's Positive Business Environment.
KPMG's guide to international business costs KPMG Competitive Alternatives Study. | 
