Confused By The Economic, Finance & Revenue Canada Terms and Definitions? Get The Answers Here!
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Age Credit
A special tax credit on an amount of $3,619 available to Canadians age 65 and over. The age credit is subject to an income test that targets the assistance to seniors who most need it. The unused portion of the credit may be transferred to a spouse.
Alternative Minimum Tax
A tax levied under personal income tax to ensure that high-income Canadians claiming preferential tax deductions or credits pay a reasonable amount of tax in any given year. A taxpayer who is subject to the AMT must add back to his or her taxable income a number of tax deductions otherwise allowed, such as the non-taxable portion of capital gains. A taxpayer who is subject to the AMT also cannot claim many of the tax credits otherwise permitted, such as the federal political tax credit and the investment tax credit. A taxpayer must pay the higher of either the regular income tax or the AMT.
Amortization period
The total and actual number of years it will take to repay a mortgage in full.
Annualized Rate
A percentage rate of change calculated to show what the change would be over one year. Whether an annualized rate for a short period would be indicative of average growth over the coming year depends on how much the variable in question is subject to short-term changes, such as seasonal factors or special developments. Barring any short-term changes, if economic growth in the first quarter of a year were 1 per cent, the annualized rate would be about 4 per cent. (It would slightly exceed 4 per cent because of compounding.
Annuity
The payment of a regular pension or similar benefit for a contracted number of years, or for the lifetime of the beneficiary, paid out from an invested lump sum of capital.
Anti-Dumping Duty
Anti-dumping duties are applied to imports of a particular good from a specified country in order to eliminate the harm being caused by the dumping to the domestic industry of the importing country.
Asset
Any thing of value or any valued thing owned by an individual or organization.
Auditor General of Canada
An officer of Parliament responsible for auditing all government spending to ensure that it is efficient, consistent with the intent of Parliament and properly accounted for. The Auditor General makes an annual report to Parliament that includes proposals to improve government spending and accounting practices. More further information, visit the Web site of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.
Automated banking machine (ABM)
An electronic kiosk or terminal that allows you to conduct financial transactions such as paying bills, withdrawing cash and depositing cheques. Also known as an automatic teller machine (ATM).
Automatic teller machine (ATM)
Average Tax Rate
The ratio of taxes paid to the tax base. Accordingly, the average income tax rate is the ratio of income tax paid to income. A single individual with an income of $50,000 who pays $12,832 in income tax has an average tax rate of 25.7 per cent ($12,832 divided by $50,000).
