How do you stop Canadian multi-nationals like Cameco or Gildan from setting up subsidiaries in offshore tax havens so that they can avoid paying Canadian taxes? Short answer is that it is has been very difficult.But this week, NDP National Revenue Critic Murray Rankin proposed new legislation that would make it easier for government and the courts to crack down on those who are playing the system.
When you are hunched over your dining room table in the coming weeks, buried in paperwork, your stomach in knots and your head swimming, here's a sobering fact to consider: 26 of the most powerful and profitable Fortune 500 companies paid zero dollars in federal income tax between 2008 and 2012.
A major Canadian corporation and its practice of shifting profits to a tax haven are getting lots of attention in Saskatoon from this billboard.
Tax Dodge a new documentary produced by award-winning journalist Bruce Livesey will air on the Global Television Network program 16x9 this Saturday, November 23 at 7pm.
Canada has the lowest corporate tax rate in the G7. But that’s not good enough for some Canadian businesses.
Radio-Canada and the Globe and Mail have been hot on the story of organized crime abusing the Canadian tax system. Worrying and sadly, not a surprise. It clearly shows that Canada is not immune to sophisticated, multi-billion dollar global schemes that involve money laundering and hidden assets.
For years now Cameco has been pushing its profits to Switzerland to avoid paying taxes in Canada. Even though they mine Canadian uranium, use Canadian services and benefit from everything Canada has to offer. It is now estimated they owe more than $2B in taxes. What is wrong with this picture?
There are ways that Canada could curb corporations from using tax havens to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. The Japanese government has shown us one way to do this.
Japan has a law called the Tax Haven Counter Measure Law. It applies to any Japanese subsidiary in a low tax jurisdiction with a tax rate of 20% or less. Under this law, the Japanese parent is taxed on the undistributed earnings of these foreign subsidiaries.
How much of Canada's money is located offshore?
Where are the offshore subsidiaries of the big banks?
Click the image below to find out.
When Canadians for Tax Fairness launched our campaign against offshore tax evasion last fall, many were skeptical anything could be achieved.
Some people said the banks, corporations and wealthy tax evaders would never be held accountable. A lot of people said we were wasting our time.
Today we have an international Tax Haven Action Plan to show them.
But we'd be vain to take much credit. You were the reason it happened.
