Taxation Data Program (TDP)

Detailed information for 2007

The survey is designed to produce detailed estimates for the following variables: revenues and expenses of farms (preliminary; final); and farm and off-farm income of farm operators and farm families.

Data release - December 9, 2008 (first in a series of releases. Please refer to left sidebar under the heading "The Daily")

• Description
• Data sources and methodology

Description

The Taxation Data Program (TDP) samples unincorporated and incorporated taxfiler records annually to estimate a range of financial agricultural variables. The financial variables collected by the TDP include detailed revenues and expenses of farms and off-farm income of operators and farm families.

Data are used by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, other federal and provincial departments, and various agencies to perform analyses on agriculture industries. The Farm Income and Prices Section, Agriculture Division, Statistics Canada, relies primarily upon TDP financial data to establish expense estimates for the Agricultural economic statistics (AES) and Statistics Canada's National Accounts.

All of the standard variables and their codes are listed in the Whole Farm Database Reference Manual (Catalogue no. 21F0005G: Table 1).

Reference period: Taxation year

Collection period: January to December (24 months)

Subjects

• Agriculture and food (formerly Agriculture)
• Farm financial statistics
• Farms and farm operators

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population consists of all unincorporated and incorporated farms in Canada. Since the 1993 taxation year, it has also encompassed all communal farming organizations in Canada.

For statistical purposes, the estimates presented cover both unincorporated farms and communal farming organizations with total farm operating revenues equal to or greater than $10,000 as well as incorporated farms with total farm operating revenues of $25,000 and over.

Instrument design

We collaborate with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to adapt their capture screens and develop new variables with them.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design and a longitudinal follow-up.

The sample design is a stratified sample based on a Poisson sampling distribution.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are extracted from administrative files.

As administrative data are involved, we have no control over the manner in which respondents provide information. The TDP is also subject to changes in the Income Tax Act.

Error detection

We perform outlier detection and correction (if applicable) and historical edits.

We also perform a series of deterministic edits to correct missing, invalid or inconsistent entries.

Imputation

Coherence checks are performed.

The Generalized Edit and Imputation System (GEIS) is used to resolve problems of missing, invalid or inconsistent responses.

Estimation

Since we have a probabilistic sample, we use sampling weights to produce estimations through a complex estimation system called ESTIMEX.

Quality evaluation

We compare our estimates with other existing agricultural statistical data sources.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. The confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act override the provisions of any other Act, including the Access to Information Act, to guarantee the confidentiality of reported data of individual respondents. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

For each of the tabulations produced, the estimated number of farms is rounded to the base 5 and the estimates of the other variables within that table are adjusted by a variable factor. The estimated number of farm families is rounded to the base 10. With regard to the estimated number of farm operators, it is rounded to the base 5 in the series of farm operators operating single unincorporated agricultural holdings and to the base 10 in the series of farm operators operating incorporated or unincorporated agricultural holdings. If the degree of detail required to answer user requests creates confidentiality concerns, the affected data or the entire table will be suppressed.

This method preserves the confidentiality of the data, without jeopardizing the quality of the actual estimates.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

This methodology does not apply to this survey.