Annex 2: Answers to Questionnaire for Non European Member States

Annex 2: Answers to questionnaire for Non European Member States

1. Does your National Statistical Institute (NSI) or your Organisation record information on Enterprise Groups?

Country / YES / NO
Australia / X
Canada / X
Hungary / X
Japan / X
New Zealand / X
Singapore / X
South Africa / X
USA Bureau of Census / X
USA Nass / X

1. The information on EG that your NSI or your Organisation records is:

Country / Partial / For all legal units
Australia / X
Canada / X
New Zealand / X
Singapore / X
USA Bureau of Census / X

1. If the information is partial the field of observation is defined in terms of:

Country / Legal Status / Economic activity / Economic activity + Legal Status / Dimension / Other
Canada / Only covers units in integrated portion of the Business Register based on assets and revenue threshold by industry. / Does not cover Canadian subsidiaries located abroad. Only covers first level immediate owner for foreign owned.
USA Bureau of Census / Only covers US units.

1. When did you start recording information on EG?

Country / Year
Australia / 1989
Canada / 1983
New Zealand / 1974/75
Singapore / 1986
USA Bureau of Census / 1070’S

1. Is the information on EG already included in the Business Register?

Country / YES / NO
Australia / X
Canada / X
New Zealand / X
Singapore / X
USA Bureau of Census / X

1. Is the definition of the European Council Regulation No.696/93 on EG consistent with the one adopted in your country or in your Organisation?

Country / YES / Broadly / NO
Australia / X
Canada / X
New Zealand / X
Singapore / X
USA Bureau of Census / X

1. Acconding to current legislation in your country the concept of control can be identified by:

Country / Majority of voting rights / Dominant influence / Indirect control / Other
Australia / X
Canada / X / X / X
New Zealand / X / X / X
Singapore / X / X / X
USA Bureau of Census / X / X

1. If you use criteria other than the first one listed above to identify control, please provide information on how this is treated operationally.

Country / Additional information
Australia / Control is governed by Corporation law so it is applied as specified thereby.
Canada / Refer to notes on inter-corporate ownership.

9.Do you interpret that the variables '1g' and '1h' (mentioned in the European Council Regulation No.2186/93) are referred to:

Country / Direct controlling legal unit / Head of Group / UBO
Australia / X
Canada / X
New Zealand / X / X / X
Singapore / X
USA Bureau of Census / X

1. Kind of sources used for collecting and updating data on EG.

Country / Periodical Surveys / *Administrative sources / Private sources
Annual / Quarterly / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / D & B / Others
Australia / X / X
Canada / X(1) / X(2) / X / X / X
New Zealand / X / X / X / X / X / X / X(3) / X(4)
Singapore / X / X(5) / X
USA Bureau of Census / X / X(6) / X / X

• (1-Stock Exchange; 2-Chamber of Commerce; 3-Consolidated Accounts; 4-Fiscal Files; 5-Patent Office; 6-Companies House; 7-Other)

Notes: (1) Calura; (2) Industrial Organisation and Finance Division; (3) NZ Taxation Department, NZ Government Actuary for Superannuation Funds; (4) United Business Directories, Telecom Yellow Pages, Other News Media Articles; (5) Registry of Companies and Businesses, Registry of Professional Bodies, Registry of Societies, Trade Development Board, Government directories; (6) Federal tax authority; for publicly traded corporations, Federal authority that regulates securities trading, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

1. If you use more than one sources, for collecting and updating data on EG, are the definitions on control adopted by each source consistent among them?

Country / YES / NO
Australia / X
Canada / For surveys / For admin. sources.
New Zealand / X
Singapore / X
USA Bureau of Census / X

1. If not, what methodology do you apply to harmonise them?

Country / Additional information
Canada / No methodology stated.
USA Bureau of Census / The Federal tax authority generally uses an 80 percent ownership rule to identify affiliated enterprises. Since this criteria is more restrictive, it does not identify all enterprise groups, and the Census Bureau must rely on its profiling survey (and other survey collections) to complete the register's affiliation information.

1. Variables collected for legal units belonging to a group

Country / Shareholding of direct control / Shareholding of indirect control / All Shareholding
Australia / X
Canada / X
New Zealand / X
Singapore / X(1)
USA Bureau of Census / X

Note: (1) Except for public listed companies.

1. Variables for enterprise groups:

Country / Identifier of the group / Additional variables / Economic activity (ISIC)
Turnover / Employees / Other / Section / Sub section / 4 digits
Australia / X / X
Canada / X / X / X / X / X
New Zealand / X / X(1) / X(2) / X
Singapore(3) / X(3)
USA Bureau of Census / X / X / X(4)

Note: (1) Only If located in NZ, via linkage with the NZ Taxation Department; (2) Only f located in NZ; (3) Economic activity, in terms of Singapore Standard Industrial Classifications (SSIC – 5 digit); (4) Payroll.

Country /

Additional economic variables

Canada /

Assets, SNA sector, International financing code.

Singapore / Paid up capital (for companies), persons of Authority (owner or director).

1. In the contest of transnational enterprise group do you consider the identification of foreign UBO:

Country / Essential to identify the nationality of control of TEG / Not essential
Australia / X
Canada / X
Hungary / X
Japan / X
New Zealand / X
Singapore / X
South Africa / X
USA Bureau of Census / X
USA Nass / X

1. In the case of truncated TEG are you able to find the non resident UBO?

Country / Yes / No / Sometimes
Australia / X
Canada / X
New Zealand / X(1)
Singapore / X
USA Bureau of Census / X

Note: (1) Sources used: Frame Updating Surveys and particularly the Group Profiling Survey.

1. How do you think is better to identify UBO of truncated groups?

Country / Profiling / Immediate foreign owner as a proxy / Sharing information on local group head / Common
Identifier
Australia / X
Canada / - / - / - / -
Hungary / - / - / - / -
Japan / X
New Zealand / X
Singapore / X
South Africa / X
USA Bureau of Census / X
USA Nass / - / - / - / -

1. How do you consider the possibility of transmitting individual data to some official International Organisation?

Country / Impossible but desirable / Impossible and not desirable / Possible and desirable / Possible but not desirable
Australia / X
Canada / X
Hungary / - / - / - / -
Japan / - / - / - / -
New Zealand / X
Singapore / X
South Africa / X
USA Bureau of Census / X
USA Nass / - / - / - / -

1. Within the existing national framework, do you think that United Nations or, at least, an official Regional Organisation and National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) or equivalent national Organisations should work in the direction of reducing confidentiality constraints for statistical purposes?

Country / YES / NO / Comments
Australia / - / -
Canada / X
Hungary / X
Japan / X / To keep the present level of confidentiality constraints in Japan seems essential because enterprises are more and more concerned about confidentiality of the data collected though censuses and statistical surveys.
New Zealand / X
Singapore / X
South Africa / X
USA Bureau of Census / X / It does not seem likely that a U.N. or regional effort would have much practical effect on strongly-held national policies regarding statistical confidentiality.
USA Nass / - / - / -

19. Are you planning to start to collect information on EG?

Country / YES / NO / Comment
Hungary / X
Japan / X
South Africa / X
USA Nass / X / The NASS farm register is only used to collect agricultural information on farms and agricultural businesses located in the U.S. through agricultural surveys and the Census of Agriculture. A few farming operations and businesses have non-U.S. addresses and may be part of an international business. In these instances, our surveys are only designed to collect data regarding U.S. agriculture.

1. When are you planning to start to collect information on EG?

Country / Within 1 year / Within 2 years / Within 3 years / More than 3 years
Hungary / X
Japan / X
South Africa / X

1. Sources to be used

Country / Periodical Surveys / *Administrative sources / Private sources
Annual / Quarterly / Other / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / D & B / Others
Australia / X / X / X / X
Hungary / X
Japan / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
South Africa

* (1-Stock Exchange; 2-Chamber of Commerce; 3-Consolidated Accounts; 4-Fiscal Files; 5-Patent Office; 6-Companies House; 7-Other)

1. Future Plans of countries already collecting data on EG:

Canada / Future plans
-Planning to expand the content of the Business Register with the hook-up of Balance of Payments.
-Planning to integrate CALURA with the Business Register.