New NDP bill would crack down on tax cheats

While the Liberal government fails to keep their promise on transparency of tax evasion investigations, the NDP is proposing new legislation to help crack down on tax cheats.

“The Liberals are failing to take immediate action to address the issue of tax fairness. They seem perfectly fine with giving sweetheart deals to tax cheats and breaking their promises of transparency when it comes to tax evasion investigations,” said Pierre-Luc Dusseault, the NDP’s National Revenue Critic, “New Democrats, on the other hand, are serious about cracking down on corporations and wealthy individuals who avoid paying their fair share of taxes.”

Based on the work of a top federal tax prosecutor and experts on international tax avoidance, NDP House Leader Murray Rankin introduced Bill C-362 that would deny tax breaks on a type of banking transaction commonly used in tax avoidance.

“People are abusing Canada’s tax system to gets tax breaks on transactions that have no real economic value,” said Rankin. “Enough with excuses, this type of thing should be stopped immediately and that’s what we’re proposing today.”

Unlike most advanced economies, Canada doesn’t require a transaction to have economic substance to qualify for tax benefits. Under the Obama Administration, the United States passed similar legislation to close this loophole. Canadians for Tax Fairness estimates the NDP’s changes could recover up to $400 million in revenue every year.