Paradise Papers

[Veovis]

So the facts sit like this.

Many uber rich have stashed money after tax in a tax haven. Massive amounts. Let's just look at the 60,000,000 guy to start. The fact he paid tax is great however like a regular person the earnings on that money would still be taxable. So at 5% annual, and a 20% tax rate over 20 years he saved 9,000,000 in taxes he would have paid. (tax rate would actually be higher but I'll be generous.

So far it sounds like no laws were broken overall (time will tell), that's fine, but then we get a super rich entitled Prime Minister and one of his first acts is to reduce to TFSA contribution room, you know to stop "rich" people from not paying their fair share, then he designs a tax plan with his other rich pal to attack middle class and doctors, now we find that at no time did he look to make changes to the actual massive tax avoidance issues that really exist, but then again, that would affect the uber rich, not the vassals of the royalties kingdom.

This is why our PM looks very bad in this issue. If you look at bank accounts our PM and crew attacked only the poor in comparison to what they do.

These types of tax havens do need adjustment or caps and reductions in the amounts in them.

Maybe it's time to stop yelling at Jim who opened his own business and hired your kid so he could afford university that he isn't "paying his fair share" and actually look at the real issues, and the real money, it's not small business folks.

The Conservatives for their many faults at least didn't make it clear we are to be ruled and kept down, not offered chances to excel.

[maryjane48]

Heres full list of canadians on the list

https://pressprogress.ca/heres-a-runnin ... ax-havens/

[oneh2obabe]

By no means is that a complete list - it's a running list which should be updated as new names are disclosed.

[Veovis]

Heres full list of canadians on the list

https://pressprogress.ca/heres-a-runnin ... ax-havens/

You mean a "here's a deflect piece"

The real issue is attacking the middle class in the guise of getting the rich, yet ignoring the actual rich that pull this crap.

When you have that kind of money, tax shelters are the last thing needed, the cons aren't the "get the rich" people Justin however campaigned on that specific point and then has this while attacking the middle class. Bad form.

I don't rightly care who is on the list or the affiliations, but a proper reform to really look at the hiding of investment incomes from taxation is a proper tax reform to be explored.

As noted there are times and reasons money can be moved, but the reasons are getting weak, and the positions (such as finance minister) given to such folks is a complete conflict of interest on all levels.

[Omnitheo]

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/politics/tr ... -1.3526183

You won't find the name Justin Trudeau in the leaked documents that sparked an international furor over tax avoidance, the prime minister insisted Thursday during a brief stop in northern Ontario.

Trudeau, in Sudbury, Ont., to make an infrastructure announcement, said he has been fully open with Canadians about the investments he holds.

The prime minister was unequivocal when asked directly whether he or any of his family members hold cash or investments in offshore accounts.

"No, we do not," Trudeau said as some in the audience chuckled. "I have been entirely and completely transparent about my and my family's finances."

Trudeau said the Panama Papers have highlighted the concerns that people around the world have about political leaders and other powerful corporate figures using offshore accounts and tax havens to avoid paying taxes.

And he pointed to measures announced in his government's first fiscal plan as proof that he is determined to find tax cheats.

"In this budget, even before the Panama Papers came out, we had allocated an extra $440 million to the Canada Revenue Agency to ensure they are empowered to go after tax avoidance," Trudeau said.

Canadians expect their leaders to show they are worthy of their trust, while leaders need to trust Canadians enough to share details about the assets they hold, Trudeau said without directly mentioning anyone implicated in the scandal.

A massive leak of more than 11 million documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca — one of the world's largest creators of shell companies — has been dogging political leaders around the world.

The unprecedented leak of details about assets being held in tax-sheltered offshore accounts had one of Canada's biggest lenders, the Royal Bank, on the defensive this week over its ties to the law firm.

Media reports have linked hundreds of wealthy Canadians to the controversy.

What we should be asking though, is what the effect of that extra investment to the CRA has had? Were they aware of any of this? Was anything being done before we had yet another leak. How come we haven’t heard anything about recovered taxes from those hiding money overseas?

Apparently it has had zero effect.
http://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4384532

It's no secret that many wealthy Canadians are squirrelling away fortunes offshore to avoid — or even evade — taxes.

What is secret is just how much money it's costing fellow Canadians and the national treasury each year.

That's because unlike many other countries, Canada fails to disclose or even track the full size of its "tax gap" — the difference between the government's potential tax revenue and what it actually manages to collect.

The U.S. has been tracking and publicly reporting its tax gap for more than 50 years. And now so do more than a dozen other Western countries, including the U.K., France, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Portugal, Mexico, Norway and Denmark.

The Canada Revenue Agency isn't just keeping data from the prying eyes of journalists.

The agency won't share what it does know with parliamentarians either.

"It's shameful," said Senator Percy Downe of P.E.I. "The Canada Revenue Agency is the most incompetent department ... in the government of Canada."

Downe spoke to CBC News and the Toronto Star, partners in the Paradise Papers collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which has shed light on the activities of thousands of wealthy individuals and corporations around the globe who use offshore havens to shield money from tax collectors.

For five years, Downe has been campaigning to get the CRA to release raw data on just how much potential revenue slips through tax collectors' hands due to legal tax avoidance and outright evasion.

"We don't know — is it $40 billion, $6 billion?" said Downe, pointing to a 2017 Conference Board of Canada report that concludes the country's tax gap could be as big as $47 billion a year.

Did they even get that 440 million? If so what did they do with it, if not actually tracking the amount of tax evasion?

[Omnitheo]

In terms of taking firm action on these tax shelters, there is only one party I actually believe would be willing to do something about it.

April 4th, 2016

NDP statement on the “Panama Papers” scandal

NDP National Revenue critic Pierre-Luc Dusseault (Sherbrooke) made the following statement:

“Operation ‘Panama Papers’ has exposed the shocking use of offshore tax havens. New Democrats have always fought against this kind of abuse that allows the wealthy to play by different rules than ordinary Canadians.

The fact that a prominent Canadian bank could be involved is very worrying. The Liberal government must investigate these allegations and show leadership in the fight against tax evasion. The Canada Revenue Agency must have sufficient resources to investigate and our laws must be tightened to catch and punish white collar criminals.

During the election campaign, the Liberals promised to crackdown on tax havens – but we’re still waiting. The Canadian government loses billions every year – billions that could be used to protect and expand social programs across the country.

If the government doesn’t take action, the wealthy and powerful will continue to benefit from our malleable tax laws. The Trudeau government must quickly introduce legislative amendments to eliminate loopholes and fight tax evasion. At a time when honest Canadians are filling out their tax returns, we have to get tough on tax cheats once and for all.”

And a year later we’re still waiting, as new leaks bring more details to light, and the renewed news coverage of such evasions bring light to the fact that there has been virtually no action taken.

Here is an exchange between Mulcair and Trudeau in regards to the Panama papers
https://openparliament.ca/debates/2016/ ... mulcair-2/

Mulcair and the NDP government are actually trying to do something about the tax evasion,whereas the liberals are actively avoiding it while claiming that they are doing something (which we’re clearly discovering was false)

[Veovis]

https://www.castanet.net/news/Canada/21 ... n-tax-leak

What an idiot.

Most people aren't really annoyed about the fact that the rules were followed, they are annoyed that this is a real option. Seriously, from the guy who is attacking small business owners in the lie of "get those people not paying their fair share" but turns around and says that this is all good......as I said, what an idiot.

Change those rules then Mr PM, and leave business and the middle class alone.

[Hassel99]

https://www.castanet.net/news/Canada/211057/PM-satisfied-on-tax-leak

What an idiot.

Most people aren't really annoyed about the fact that the rules were followed, they are annoyed that this is a real option. Seriously, from the guy who is attacking small business owners in the lie of "get those people not paying their fair share" but turns around and says that this is all good......as I said, what an idiot.

Change those rules then Mr PM, and leave business and the middle class alone.

PM is an embarrassment, what a freaking hypocrite