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April 24th, 2012

NDP targets tax evasion

Finance committee adopts NDP proposal to study tax evasion and use of tax havens

OTTAWA — A New Democrat motion seeking concrete measures to fight tax evasion and the use of tax havens was adopted today by the finance committee.

“Canada has the opportunity to recover significant sums of money by going after funds hidden in tax havens,” said Official Opposition National Revenue Critic Hoang Mai (Brossard-La Prairie). “In the current context of budgetary austerity, the government should make every effort to recover money that’s due.”

Conservatives must do more to address this problem. They must also implement a strategy to deal with more effectively with the growing use of tax havens, which likely costs Canada billions of dollars each year.

“It’s time the government took this problem seriously. I’m pleased to see that the finance committee finally decided to listen to the NDP and commit to finding concrete solutions to both tax evasion and the use of tax havens,” continued Mai.

The Auditor General’s report published in April recommends that the Canada Revenue Agency implement a concrete risk assessment system and establish the order of priority of files selected. Tax evasion must be a priority.