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View Gabriel Ste-Marie Profile
BQ (QC)
Before I make that statement, if I may, Mr. Chair, I would be prepared to move the motion to which Mr. Julian was referring, if the clerk can confirm that he has received the motion by email, which he can distribute to colleagues.
So you should have the version in both languages shortly. In the meantime, I will read the motion and move it to see if you agree.
As my colleague Mr. Peter Julian said, when the representative from KPMG Canada appeared, I asked some questions. Afterwards, the clerk sent them in writing, and then we received two letters from the lawyer representing KPMG that raised some points, but didn't answer most of the questions.
Therefore, I would move that the committee adopt the following motion and, if appropriate, that these matters be referred to KPMG, along with the letter provided to us by the law clerk and parliamentary counsel of the House regarding committee rights and privileges.
Here is the motion:
That the Finance Committee ask KPMG Canada the following questions, and expects a response by August 1, 2021.KPMG Canada may submit its responses with confidential client information redacted, making sure to submit a non-redacted version to the Law Clerk for verification.1. KPMG has set up tax strategies that provide a financial vehicle enabling some of its clients to reduce their tax payable. For each case in which KPMG Canada created or helped create, directly or indirectly, one or more corporations in the Isle of Man, thereby enabling one or more Canadian taxpayers to conceal money or to reduce their tax payable, please provide the committee with the following:a) All documents used in these strategies;b) A list of the corporations that were created through these strategies; c) A list of the officers and directors involved in these strategies;d) The number of strategies and the number of individuals who benefited from them, directly or indirectly; ande) The fees that KPMG received for each strategy.2. In addition, please provide all of the above information for each similar strategy using jurisdictions other than the Isle of Man, making sure to indicate the jurisdiction for each case. 3. Please provide for each KPMG Canada client the conclusions of each file with CRA, including taxes reimbursed, incurred interest, and penalties for each taxpayer4. Did KPMG Canada ask another corporation, KPMG Isle of Man, or any other corporation to create, directly or indirectly, one or more of the four corporations registered in the Isle of Man under the names Shashqua, Sceax, Katar, and Spatha? If so, which ones, and how? For that purpose, we ask that KPMG Canada interview staff members who may have information on this subject, and to not limit its research to the last ten years.5. Did KPMG Canada directly or indirectly contribute to, or participate in, the creation or use of one or more of these four corporations? If so, which ones, and how? For that purpose, we ask that KPMG Canada interview staff members who may have information on this subject, and to not limit its research to the last ten years.
That is the motion. As I say, if the committee adopts it, I propose that these questions be sent to KPMG, along with the letter that the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel of the House has provided us.
Thank you.
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Thank you for that.
I flagged the government announcement of just a few days ago as well. They don't have the money or the resources to ensure that indigenous communities have safe drinking water—dozens of communities have poisonous water—and the government continues to pretend that it just doesn't have the resources to handle these issues.
I think you've pointed out an important point from the use of the wage subsidy. We've had companies that have used that subsidy for dividends, stock buybacks and big executive bonuses.
The government is saying that it is dealing with overseas tax havens—and I'd like to come back to that—which the PBO estimates cost us over $25 billion every year. CRA officials told this committee just a few months ago that they don't have the legislative framework to even tackle the widespread tax evasion that we're seeing through the use of overseas tax havens.
What could the government be doing to tackle, in a serious way the chronic blight on Canada of $25 billion a year going to overseas tax havens rather than being used to meet the needs of people in our country?
Toby Sanger
View Toby Sanger Profile
Toby Sanger
2021-05-18 12:03
That's why I went into a bit more detail in my statement. There are some really important negotiations taking place this year through the OECD and G20 on a fundamental reform of international corporate tax rules. The majority of the revenues lost are on the corporate side, and most of them go to larger corporations and foreign corporations.
If we're talking about increasing competitiveness and the strength of the Canadian economy and businesses, we really need to address this problem. It's not just the lost revenues. Canada, actually, has a very good system of allocating taxable income between provinces, according to real economic factors.
If we implemented some of those rules that are under discussion at the international level, and if Canada were a champion of that, then we could largely do away with the problem of losses through tax havens and international tax dodging in different ways, so that—
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
We're supposed to all be in this together, yet Canada's billionaires have increased their wealth by $78 billion and Canada's banks have received an unparalleled package of liquidity support of $750 billion from various federal institutions, with over $40 billion in profits thus far in the pandemic. This is unprecedented that we've seen these massive levels of wealth, and yet most Canadians are struggling. As we talked about earlier, CRB is being slashed. Students are being forced to pay for their student loans. There's nothing for people with disabilities, despite the fact that half of the people who line up at food banks are people with disabilities.
Given all of that, it is perplexing beyond belief that there is no wealth tax in this budget. I know that there's a luxury tax. The spin is that this brings in a little bit of money. The PBO indicates that's about 1¢ on the dollar of what a wealth tax would bring in. There are no measures around cracking down on overseas tax havens that CRA has already indicated that they don't have the tools to take on, which is why there have been no convictions in the various Panama papers, Bahamas papers, that have come out that show tax evaders.
The question is very simple: Why no legislation to combat tax havens and why no wealth tax when 80% of Canadians support that?
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
I will try to go really fast. First of all, I want to speak to some of the assertions in that question.
Let me just point out, for Canadians who are listening, that the CRB continues to September 25. This is an important extension. The changes we made, the flexibilities we introduced to EI, are extended for an additional full year. We have also expanded the EI sickness benefit from 15 to 26 weeks.
On disabilities, let me point out that particularly for students with a serious but not permanent disability, we have significantly expanded support. That's something that I'm very glad we were able to include in the budget.
In terms of tax evasion, let me say that I believe this budget invests more strongly and more significantly in closing tax loopholes, in fighting aggressive tax-planning schemes and in going after tax evasion than any previous budget. I would like to also point out the measures here on beneficial ownership and shine a light on that.
View Gabriel Ste-Marie Profile
BQ (QC)
Fine, thank you.
Mr. Létourneau, do you have any comments related to actions to combat the use of tax havens?
Jacques Létourneau
View Jacques Létourneau Profile
Jacques Létourneau
2021-04-15 18:07
I am not a tax expert, but I know that, even today, Canada is unfortunately a real sieve for those who transfer money to tax havens to avoid paying their taxes in Canada.
We are part of the coalition that has been calling on the Canadian government and provincial governments for several years to take action on this issue, especially at a time when the Canadian government has taken steps to support the economic activity of small businesses as well as workers affected by the pandemic. How will Canada's debt eventually be paid down? It is, of course, through the taxes generated by the economic recovery. This brings me back to the question I was asked earlier about the notorious GAFAs.
We need to ensure that companies and people who get rich in Canada pay their taxes in Canada. All necessary mechanisms must be in place to prevent the movement of wealth to tax havens to avoid Canadian or provincial taxation. In fact, as long as we cannot work cooperatively within the framework of the OECD or other international organizations, hundreds of millions of dollars will escape the Canadian tax system and unfortunately will not be part of the so-called redistribution of wealth among the population.
In fact, we had appeared in committee on this two or three years ago. I don't remember the numbers, but the amount of money that was escaping the Canadian tax system and ending up in tax havens was pretty staggering.
I thank you for the question.
William Ross
View William Ross Profile
William Ross
2021-03-25 15:46
Good afternoon, my name is William Ross.
Mr. Chair, members of the Standing Committee on Finance, good afternoon. I am the co-ordination officer of the Collectif Échec aux paradis fiscaux, which represents more than 1.7 million members from unions and civil society in Quebec.
As part of the consultations of the Standing Committee on Finance, the collectif has been exploring a way to increase government revenues. Given the current emergency, we believe the government has the legitimacy and public support to deliver on two key promises in its own 2019 election platform: ending the use of tax havens and imposing a tax on web giants. We don't rule out the use of a wealth tax, but that will require creating guarantees that these wealthy individuals won't be able to take advantage of existing tax loopholes.
According to the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Canada estimates that between $19 billion and $26 billion are lost each year because of unpaid taxes, tax evasion and tax avoidance. The Tax Justice Network also estimates, according to the latest figures released last week, that Canada loses $5.75 billion annually because of illicit international flows, representing 20% to 25% of the Canadian tax gap.
At a time when Canada and the world are facing an unprecedented crisis and the public deficit is at an all-time high, it is more than necessary for Canada to make it a priority to fight tax fraud before considering charging taxpayers or cutting programs and services to our already hard-pressed communities. However, the health crisis has highlighted some clear vulnerabilities in Canada's tax transparency and justice policies.
Members will recall that in May 2020, Canadians asked the government to follow Denmark's example by not injecting public funds into companies that use tax havens in their tax strategies. The government couldn't listen to that recommendation. How could it have, since we don't have the proper tools in Canada to know who is using shell companies and for what purpose? We believe it's imperative that the government establish a registry of actual beneficiaries. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada held consultations on this issue last year. Unfortunately, nothing has been done since then. To prevent the government from injecting public funds into companies that do not comply with our own tax laws, it's imperative that we have the means to properly map company structures and establish the identity of individuals who benefit from public assistance programs.
Members will also understand that 2020 was an opportunity for an unprecedented expansion of the digital economy. As such, the government's broken promise to introduce a tax on the digital economy and diverted profits by April 1, 2020, was an incredible missed opportunity to ensure that Amazon and similar companies pay their fair share and contribute adequately to the Canadian economy, particularly in times of crisis.
The repeated failure of the OECD negotiations is really the last straw. So we are asking that Canada implement such a tax without delay, in order to recover the lost money.
With regard to foreign direct investment in tax havens, an already well-known trend continued in 2020. In fact, foreign direct investment increased by 3% last year, for a total of 135% over the past decade. Canadians continued to put money into the 12 most influential tax havens. In total, according to Canadians for Tax Fairness, $380 billion is being taken off the tax rolls and allowed to enter the country with impunity. We believe it is absolutely essential that the government curb double non-taxation practices and review its international tax policies and its participation in certain existing tax treaties.
In conclusion, the Collectif Échec aux paradis fiscaux remains convinced that the best thing to come out of the current crisis would be a Canadian economy driven by a desire for tax justice, which would put an end to the harmful practices that have been put in place over the years. This is an opportunity for the government to have all the levers in place to create that change. We encourage the government to act responsibly. As such, I will provide the clerk with a brief of our 12 recommendations, as we have already submitted them during the pre-budget consultations.
Thank you very much.
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Thanks, Mr. Chair and Mr. Giroux.
In the same vein as talking about the alternatives, the borrowing authority and looking to potentially increase income revenues to the federal government, it's important to cite, as per your previous studies, that there is a lot of money that already should be paid in taxation that goes to overseas tax havens. I cite your landmark study of June 2019, where the estimate was over $25 billion in federal tax revenues that go to overseas tax havens.
You provided a legislative costing note on strengthening tax compliance on February 18. I would like to ask you two questions. You've indicated some difficulties in terms of the investments by the federal government actually leading to the kinds of revenues that Canadians would expect. We also have testimony before this committee from Ted Gallivan of the Canada Revenue Agency, back on June 16, reacting to the failure of the federal government to prosecute, basically, anybody who's been involved in overseas tax havens. He said at that time, to this finance committee, that we'd come as far as we could with the tools we had.
My question is twofold. First, where do you see the federal government as lacking, in terms of initiatives to strengthen that tax compliance?
Second, do you have any recommendations for the federal government that would curb the massive leak of federal tax revenues to overseas tax havens among the wealthy and very profitable corporations?
Yves Giroux
View Yves Giroux Profile
Yves Giroux
2021-03-18 11:49
That's a very broad question, Mr. Julian. I don't know if I should thank you for that or not.
With respect to the capacity or what the CRA could do, or where it is lacking, it's probably a question that would be best answered in a much longer study. I would say, generally speaking, the CRA does not take as aggressive a stance towards tax evasion as, for example, Revenu Québec does. Anybody who lives in Quebec and owns or operates a business, or has been subject to an audit by Revenu Québec, will probably know that there usually is a difference.
In that sense, the CRA takes, generally speaking, a more educational approach and a less aggressive approach. It also shows in its prosecution of tax planning. That being said, it may be bound by different legislation. I haven't done a comparative study of the legislation that applies to both jurisdictions. Generally speaking, that's what I would say; it's an approach that's less aggressive when it comes to prosecuting egregious cases of tax evasion.
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Thank you for that.
We have the singular illustration of the Spanish flu. We have seen, in all the analyses done after the Spanish flu, that for lower-income people in that period a century ago, it took over a decade for them to have in place the financial resources they had before the Spanish flu pandemic hit. We're dealing with a situation in which people are struggling to put food on the table, struggling to make ends meet, and yet the federal government seems absolutely unwilling to put in place even the rudimentary foundations of a fair tax system.
My second question goes to that.
We've had people come before this committee and kind of brush off the idea of tackling overseas tax havens. The parliamentary budgetary officer projects that we'll lose $25 billion this year. These are in tax revenues that go to overseas tax havens. That could provide so much support for people. You mentioned child care, affordable housing—all these things that Canadians are forced to struggle without. Pharmacare, of course, the Liberals and Conservatives said no to, but I think Canadians will come back to them on that in the next election.
All these things that are essential for Canadians, the government brushes aside—
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
—and yet there has been no action on ending tax havens.
How important is it to make a concerted effort against overseas tax havens in order to provide the foundation that you spoke of in your presentation?
DT Cochrane
View DT Cochrane Profile
DT Cochrane
2021-03-17 17:02
It's incredibly important.
These tax havens are used by the wealthiest of the wealthiest of the wealthiest. This is not an instrument that's available to you or me. The very use of it is automatically raising questions about why this is being done. This is implicated in issues with what's called “base erosion and profit shifting”, meaning that companies are able to move profits to offshore low-tax havens even though the profit-making work is actually happening here. It's just a way of exploiting the rules. Often they're operating right at the edge of what's legal in order to just maintain their pools of wealth, again, as I described, because of our trickle-up economy. They didn't work harder for it. They didn't earn it through any sort of virtue or contribution to society. It's just a function of the fact that they own and asset and they want to hold on to as much of it as they possibly can, and then they will spend it in ways that have distorting effects on society.
How many people earn incredible incomes that help them figure out how to massage the rules so they can get away with parking their money in a low-tax tax haven, while also enjoying all of the benefits that come from living in Canada?
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
That's very nice. Thank you very much.
I will again turn to you, Mr. Brière, but also to you, Mr. Couillard, on the issue of tax havens. You said it would be more difficult to combat tax heavens. I don't think that has really been confirmed. In fact, if the affected employees were moved to positions related to combatting tax havens and people from the Canada Revenue Agency were given the necessary tools, we could combat tax havens even better.
Gentlemen, if people from Jonquière and Mauricie were moved to positions within the Canada Revenue Agency, specifically related to the fight against tax avoidance, tax loopholes and, of course, tax havens, would that enable us to recover the money going into tax havens? According to the parliamentary budget officer, those amounts total $25 billion a year.
Marc Brière
View Marc Brière Profile
Marc Brière
2021-02-23 17:22
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for the question, Mr. Julian.
As I was saying, during the 2019 election campaign, the Conservative Party spoke about the possibility of people in Quebec losing their jobs at the CRA, especially the people in Shawinigan and Jonquière. There was talk of moving them to other positions to make them experts in the fight against tax evasion.
With all due respect to our union members, I believe that it's impossible, if not unthinkable, to do so. They have less training than the members of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, represented by Ms. Daviau. Jobs at the CRA in the fight against tax evasion require an accounting qualification and a university degree. The jobs also require several years of experience at the CRA.
For example, our union members who process tax returns in Jonquière wouldn't be qualified for this work, which requires education and years of experience at the CRA, as I just said. These people will end up unemployed, unfortunately. In the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region, there aren't 1,200 jobs available for people who prepare tax returns, either at the federal or provincial level. The situation is similar in the Mauricie region.
I want to point out that people do this type of work in other regions of Quebec, particularly in Laval and Montreal. These people would also lose their jobs. It would be difficult to transfer them to other positions elsewhere, unless they move to Revenu Québec. In Quebec, 18,000 people prepare tax returns at both Revenu Québec and the CRA. That's a lot of people. Job losses would be inevitable.
Mr. Ste-Marie, you said that there were no job losses during the transfers. I can give you the example of Ste. Anne's Hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, where the federal transfers to the province have been disastrous and where a number of jobs have been lost.
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