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October 6th, 2019

Justin Trudeau’s Tax Avoidance Hypocrisy

This morning, Justin Trudeau attacked Andrew Scheer for planning a tax break for people who use numbered companies to protect their income. Trudeau said Scheer is “planning to give a tax break, larger than the average person makes in a year, for people who are using private corporations to hide, to protect their income.”

Meanwhile, he’s refusing to crack down on multimillionaires using offshore tax havens to avoid Canadian taxes.

In June, the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated that Canada was losing up to $25 billion in revenue every year because corporations were doing business in Canada then transferring money to known tax havens to be taxed at a lower rate. $25 billion represents $675 in lost revenue for every Canadian.

Two years ago, the Paradise Papers revealed that Justin Trudeau’s close friend and chief fundraiser Stephen Bronfman was linked to a $60 million offshore trust in the Cayman Islands which may have cost Canada millions in lost revenue.

Former Liberal Prime Ministers Jean Chretien and Paul Martin were also linked to offshore tax havens.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh:

“If Justin Trudeau meant a word he said, he’d be taking action to crack down on tax havens. Instead, he’s chosen to protect wealthy Liberal insiders and make Canadians pay the price. It’s time for real action to ensure multimillionaires pay their share so we can invest in services like pharmacare and dentacare to make life better for Canadians.”