Government of Canada Reports on SR&ED

Parliament-Ottawa
What does the Government of Canada have to say about SR&ED?

The Government of Canada often issues reports via multiple departments. While we have grouped some together (CRA Reports, Federal Budgets) others are more disbursed. These are sorted by department, then by publication date.

Library of Parliament

The Library of Parliament is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The library is overseen by the Parliamentary Librarian of Canada and an associate or assistant librarian. Staff of the Parliamentary Information and Research Service (PIRS) of the Library of Parliament work exclusively for Parliament conducting research and providing analysis and policy advice to Members of the Senate and House of Commons and to parliamentary committees on a non-partisan and confidential basis.

The documents on their website were originally prepared for general distribution to Canadian Parliamentarians to provide background and analysis of issues that may arise in the course of their Parliamentary duties, but have been made available as a service to the public. These studies are not official Parliamentary or Canadian government documents. No legal or other professional advice is offered by the authors or the Parliamentary Information and Research Service in presenting its publications or in maintaining links to other Internet sites.

  • Theckedath, Dillan. 2012. The Business of Innovation in Canada: Challenges and Responses.
    • This paper examines the current state of innovation in Canada, summarizes recent reports that address some of the country’s key challenges in [the area of innovation], and discusses how the federal government has responded to these challenges.
  • Stuckey, Brett and Yong, Adriane. 2011. A Primer on Tax Expenditures.
    • Short references to SR&ED.
  • Fast, Elanor. 2007. Mobilizing Science And Technology: The New Federal Strategy
    • Over the past decade, federal government policies have aimed to foster world-class research programs in universities and research institutes and to encourage industrial investment in research and development (R&D). The 2007 strategy document, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage, reiterates these goals. This paper summarizes the recent history of science policy in Canada,(1) compares Canada’s R&D intensity with that of other countries, and summarizes and comments on the new strategy.
  • Madore, Odette. 2006. Scientific Research And Experimental Development: Tax Policy.
    • This publication is a revised version of the earlier paper Scientific Research and Experimental Development: Tax Policy, last updated in August, 1998.
  • [ARCHIVED] Archarya, Lalita. 2002. Research and Development in Canada: Federal Expenditures and Policies.
    • Science and Technology Division
    • This paper focuses on the R&D component of Canada’s innovation system. It provides an historic overview of federal expenditures on R&D and federal policies intended to support S&T and R&D in Canada, particularly in the private sector. In addition, it examines recent trends in OECD countries’ central government expenditures on R&D and policies for promoting R&D.
  • Madore, Odette. 1998. Scientific Research and Experimental Development: Tax Policy.
    • This publication is a revised version of the earlier paper Research Development: Tax Policy, first published in October 1989 and regularly updated since that time.

Other Items of Note

  • 2014. THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL FINANCE EVIDENCE
    • The Standing Senate Committee on National Finance met this day at 9:30 a.m. to study Bill C-462, An Act restricting the fees charged by promoters of the disability tax credit and making consequential amendments to the Tax Court of Canada Act.
    • This also references SR&ED contingency fees.
  • 2000. Committee Report. FIFTEENTH REPORT 
    • The Standing Committee on Public Accounts has considered Chapter 6 of the April 2000 Report of the Auditor General of Canada (Canada Customs and Revenue Agency and Department of Finance – Handling Tax Credits Claims for Scientific Research and Experimental Development) and the Committee proposed 11 recommendations.
  • 2001. Government Response. FIRST RESPONSE 
    • CANADA CUSTOMS AND REVENUE AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE – HANDLING TAX CREDITS CLAIMS FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts wanted to know how well the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) had administered the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Program, particularly, how it processed the huge backlog of tax credit claims resulting from the 1994 legislative amendments.  As a result, the Committee examined Chapter 6, Canada Customs and Revenue CCRA and Department of Finance – Handling Tax Credits Claims for Scientific Research and Experimental Development, of the April 2000 Report of the Auditor General of Canada on June 8th 2000.  The Committee’s examination led to 11 recommendations in its Fifteenth Report from the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session, which was tabled on October 5, 2000.  Many of the Committee’s recommendations were focused on the implementation of the CCRA’s SR&ED Action Plan and encompassed many of the Auditor General’s recommendations.

Department of Finance

  • ATIP. Department of Finance. (Muller, P.) 2009. SR&ED Tax Incentive Program: An Appraisal.
    • The purpose of this report is to 1) look at the delivery of the SR&ED program to assess to what extent CRA’s current plans are responding to the concerns expressed by the SR&ED constituency during the November 2007 consultations; and, 2) to make recommendations to the MNR on options for future action. The program is examined from the perspectives of a policy analyst, a civil servant and a political staffer. Topics include timeliness, eligibility, consistency, dispute resolution, cost of compliance, and stakeholder relations.
  • Department of Finance. (Lester, J., Patry, A., & Adéa, D.)  2007. An international comparison of marginal effective tax rates on investment in R&D by large firms.
    • This study compares marginal effective tax rates (METR) on R&D investment undertaken by large profitable firms across the thirty OECD countries and six key emerging and transition economies.
  • Department of Finance. (Parsons, M., & Phillips, N.) 2007. An evaluation of the federal tax credit for scientific research and experimental development. 
    • This paper evaluates the federal scientific research and experimental development tax credit, taking into consideration the responsiveness of the private sector to changes in the price of R&D, the spillovers on the rest of the economy from the additional R&D, the economic cost of raising taxes to fund the credit and the administration and compliance costs associated with the credit.
  • Department of Finance. 1997. The federal system of income tax incentives for scientific research and experimental development: evaluation report.
    • This document…describes the SR&ED tax incentives currently provided by the federal government and their administration; reports amounts of SR&ED expenditures, deductions and tax credits for the period 1988 to 1992; identifies the issues for evaluation in relation to the federal policy and administrative objectives underlying the SR&ED tax incentives; presents the methodologies used to evaluate the different aspects of the performance of the SR&ED tax incentives; and sets forth the findings and conclusions of the evaluation.
  • Department of Finance (Erard, B. for Carleton University). 1997. The income tax compliance burden on Canadian big business.
    • This report presents the findings from a survey of large Canadian corporations concerning their cost of complying with federal and provincial corporate income and capital taxes. The survey was administered on behalf of the Technical Committee by the Tax Executives Institute during the summer of 1996, and it inquires about the size and composition of these costs as well as the respondents’ attitudes and suggestions for reform.

Auditor General of Canada

Statistics Canada

  • Every year, the Annual Survey of Research and Development in Canadian Industry collects research and development expenditures and personnel data used to monitor science and technology related activities of businesses and industrial non-profit organizations in Canada.

Industry Canada

Other Departments and Reports