Committee
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Add search criteria
Results: 1 - 15 of 31
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I welcome this chance to address the committee.
I am joined today by senior officials from the Canada Revenue Agency: Ted Gallivan, the Assistant Commissioner of the International, Large Business and Investigations Branch, and Marie-Claude Juneau, the Director of the Access to Information and Privacy Directorate in the Public Affairs Branch.
Mr. Chair, as the world becomes increasingly globalized and cross-border activities become the norm, tax administrations need to work together to ensure that taxpayers pay the right amount of tax to the right jurisdiction. Cooperation with other tax administrations is critical to protecting the integrity of Canada's tax system and revenue base. In fact, Canada is part of one of the world's largest treaty networks, with no less than 92 tax treaties and 22 tax information exchange agreements in force.
In 2010, the U.S. Congress passed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA. FATCA requires non-U.S. financial institutions to enter into agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. tax department better known as the IRS. This act, therefore, requires the reporting of information on accounts held by U.S. residents and U.S. citizens, including U.S. citizens who are residents or citizens of Canada.
If a financial institution, Canadian as far as we are concerned, is not compliant with FATCA, FATCA requires U.S. payers, that is, corporations and other entities that pay amounts such as interest or dividends, making certain payments of U.S.-source income to this financial institution, to withhold tax equal to 30% of the payment.
This 30% FATCA withholding tax can also be levied in respect of a compliant financial institution, on individual account holders that do not provide documents showing that they are U.S. residents or U.S. citizens. In some circumstances, FATCA could even require financial institutions to close the accounts of certain clients.
In February 2014, Canada and the U.S. signed an international intergovernmental agreement, an IGA, under the longstanding Canada-U.S. tax treaty. We should mention that the first fiscal agreement between Canada and the United States dates back to 1942. While our countries have been exchanging tax information without any problems for decades, this 2014 agreement provides for an enhanced exchange of financial information to improve compliance with our respective tax laws.
Less known is that the agreement is reciprocal. So, the IRS is required to provide the CRA with enhanced information on certain accounts of Canadian residents held at U.S. financial institutions. The intergovernmental agreement was signed in February 2014 and legislation to amend the Income Tax Act to reflect the agreement was passed by the Canadian Parliament in 2014.
Canadian financial institutions that comply with the IGA and related Canadian legislation are now exempt from the 30% withholding tax. Further, Canadian financial institutions report to the CRA the financial accounts they maintain for U.S. citizens. We, in turn, securely transmit that information to the IRS.
Concerning privacy, the CRA is committed to administering this agreement, and all of Canada's tax agreements, in good faith. During the drafting process of the agreement with the Americans, the CRA, together with the Department of Finance, took great care to consult with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC). We received valuable input and adopted our approach accordingly as the negotiations progressed.
The CRA completed a privacy impact assessment in August 2015. The goal of this assessment was to identify, assess, and mitigate privacy risks. We then submitted this assessment to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for review. These communications with the OPC and the resulting actions were undertaken with the specific intent of protecting taxpayer privacy.
Information can be disclosed only to persons or authorities who assess, collect, administer, or enforce the taxes and tax laws to which the convention applies. This information can be used for income tax purposes only.
The IGA further stipulates that the information exchanged is subject to strict confidentiality and other protections provided for in the convention, including the provisions limiting the use of the information exchanged.
The CRA exchanged information with the IRS on September 30, 2015. This exchange was done while the CRA followed all of the confidentiality protocols of the treaty and the IGA. Just over three months ago, on January 4, 2016, the CRA received the OPC's recommendations pertaining to the agreement.
My officials have provided to the committee both the OPC recommendations and a copy of our response to them for your information. It is important to mention that, following our submission to the OPC, none of their recommendations suggested that we were not to share this information last September. The next annual transfer of records with the IRS is scheduled for September 30, 2016.
I want to reassure Canadians that all tax treaties and exchanges of information are subject to strict confidentiality requirements. Mr. Chair, this is a priority for our government.
These information-sharing agreements are very important because they allow us to better combat tax evasion and tax avoidance. Canadians are telling us that they want us to crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance, and the government is committed to do so, as I mentioned earlier this week. This sharing of information is critical to allow us to follow through on that commitment to Canadians.
In conclusion, I emphasize that Canada and the international community continue to move ahead towards greater tax transparency. But rest assured that confidentiality of taxpayer information remains a fundamental cornerstone of Canada's tax system.
Thank you for your attention.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I am going to ask Ms. Juneau to answer your questions and give some comments on that.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
Currently, that information cannot be publicly released because it was obtained under a treaty. It is the prerogative of the country sending the information to authorize public release of the information.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Long, our government takes the matter of privacy protection very seriously. All the information exchanged with the United States is subject to very strict confidentiality rules. The Canada Revenue Agency makes sure that tax cooperation with its partners is fully consistent with the privacy rights in effect in Canada. Information exchange is done electronically, through a dedicated, secure and effective transmission system.
All information that the IRS receives must be kept secret in the same way as information obtained under its own tax laws. All information can only be released to individuals and authorities in the American tax administration and can only be used for tax purposes.
Protecting the confidentiality of all transmissions is a major requirement for the agency. Protecting privacy really is a priority for the agency and for our government.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I will let Mr. Gallivan answer that question.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
The financial institutions are aware of this kind of information exchange. I must emphasize that, if the agency had not signed an agreement with FATCA, the information exchange would be done by the banks. The fact that the agency is involved and that agreements have been reached with FATCA, allows us to protect the information even more and to respect confidentiality and privacy.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I must tell you that, clearly, we would have done things differently from the previous government when the time came to get the approval of Parliament. We would not have rushed the agreement into effect by hiding it in an omnibus bill more than 400 pages long. We would have taken the time to explain clearly to Canadians and to Parliament why the agreement was being adopted. We would have taken the time to discuss it in a much more open and transparent manner in order to provide parliamentarians and Canadians with all the information, as is right and proper.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
After we had obtained all the information about FATCA, we clearly would still have entered into agreements with the United States. FATCA is an American act. The position that was taken at the time really allowed the Canadian banking system, and Canadians with dual citizenship, to be protected.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
The current agreement adequately protects the rights of Canadians. As I mentioned, the action needed would have been more about the process of implementing the agreement with the United States. We would have worked differently by involving all parliamentarians in open and transparent discussions and by providing information that was fair and equitable for all Canadians.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
That is true, but I must repeat that the difficulty was much more related to the process. If the process had involved all parliamentarians, we would probably not be here today discussing FATCA.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I think that Ted Gallivan will be able to answer that question.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
As I mentioned a little earlier, we clearly would have done things differently in terms of what the previous government did when the time came to have the agreement approved. There would have been discussions in Parliament in which everyone would have been involved.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
The NDP is loudly clamouring for measures to fight tax evasion and tax avoidance. However, the automatic exchange of information such as we have with the United States allows us to cross-reference information.
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
We can also identify inconsistencies in tax avoidance and tax evasion internationally.
Are you telling me that you are against measures that allow us to fight more effectively against tax evasion?
Results: 1 - 15 of 31 | Page: 1 of 3

1
2
3
>
>|
Export As: XML CSV RSS

For more data options, please see Open Data