How do the costs of red tape compare between businesses in the US and Canada?
According to the CFIB, each year, most small Canadian businesses pay $7,310 (CAD) per employee to comply with government regulations, the same as in previous years. This means that the smallest businesses in Canada spend almost ten times more on regulatory compliance per employee than the largest businesses.
On the other hand, the cost of similar-sized enterprises in the United States has increased to $11,904 (CAD) per employee, a significant increase compared to the previous estimate in 2013. This indicates that the smallest US businesses spend 14 times more per employee. largest equivalent.
Canadian business owners also reportedly spend less time each year on regulatory compliance (677 hours, equivalent to 85 days) than their US counterparts (889 hours, 111 days).
The figures represent a change from the CFIB’s 2013 study, which found Canada’s spending was higher than that of the United States. Red tape costs Canadian enterprises $11.3 billion (CAD) each year, compared to a cost of $167.5 billion (CAD) to American firms.
The figures do not include the cost of COVID-19 compliance, which three quarters of business owners in each country believe is substantial. In general, about nine tenths of business owners in both countries (87% in Canada, 84% in the US) say excessive government regulations are a source of significant additional stress to their lives.
