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Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse

Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse.

Who should pay to clean up the oil patch’s Alberta mess?

The legacy of a century of oil and gas development in Alberta is much more than just riches. There are almost a half-million oil and gas wells, well over 400,000 kilometres of pipelines, and tens of thousands of assorted facilities that played a part in bringing wealth to governments, to Calgary office towers, and to regular Albertans’ pocketbooks.

But Alberta’s conventional oil and gas industry has long been mature and now is well into terminal decline, haunting the province with the spectre of cleaning up a hundred years’ poorly regulated mess.

In fact, the issue of how to reclaim many billions of dollars’ worth of environmental liabilities has grown to such proportions that I believe it is the single biggest issue facing Alberta today and threatening our tomorrow. And it could spill far beyond the province.

read more at nationalobserver.com

Canadians Deserve To Know Why KPMG Tax Dodgers Were Let Off Easy

In the fall of 2015, Canadians heard news reports of wealthy tax dodgers using accounting giant KPMG’s Isle of Man scheme to avoid paying tax at home. Later, in the spring of 2016, we learned that the Canada Revenue Agency negotiated a secret deal with KPMG to offer their clients secret amnesties without penalties and very little interest if they just agreed to pay the taxes they should have paid in the first place.

In response to public outrage, the House of Commons Finance Committee decided to conduct hearings to find how the Canada Revenue Agency was handling the KPMG Isle of Man file. The hearings also aimed to get KPMG officials to explain themselves and their practices.

Things did not go well — at least, from the perspective of regular taxpaying Canadians.

read more at huffingtonpost.ca

Canada To Ramp Up Efforts Against Tax Evasion

The Canadian Government has said that it will review its tax ruling process and voluntary disclosures program as part of its response to recommendations made last year by a parliamentary committee.

In October 2016, the Standing Committee on Finance released its report on the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA’s) efforts to tackle tax avoidance and evasion. The Government has now published its response, in which it accepted all 14 of the committee’s recommendations.

The CRA is currently conducting audits of more than 820 taxpayers and criminally investigating 20 cases of tax evasion related to offshore accounts.

read more at tax-news.com

Alberta spends $2,700 more per person than B.C. yet collects $1,300 less tax

The Alberta government spends nearly $2,700 more per man, woman and child in the province compared to British Columbia, while collecting roughly $1,300 less in tax.

That’s according to the latest budget estimates from each province and the most recent federal census data.

That’s according to the latest budget estimates from each province and the most recent federal census data.

read more at cbc.ca

Manulife admits it was the bank fined $1.2 million by Canada’s money-laundering watchdog 

It took 10 months of media scrutiny and public outrage before Canadians learned Manulife Bank of Canada was the mysterious financial institution behind a $1.2-million fine for money-laundering violations.The same day Manulife’s identity was kept secret last April, a handful of much smaller companies — facing far less severe fines — were publicly named by FINTRAC, the country’s money-laundering and terrorist funding watchdog.

Source: Manulife admits it was the bank fined $1.2 million by Canada’s money-laundering watchdog | Toronto Star

Your tax dollars at work

Ontario’s government, the City of Victoria and Canada Revenue Agency have won awards for wasteful government spending, as judged by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

The federation has announced the annual Teddy Government Waste Award winners, handing two of the pig-shaped trophies to the Government of Ontario.

One is for the province’s electric vehicle incentive program, which the federation says provides subsidies for luxury cars, while the other is a lifetime achievement award for what the spending watchdog says is the lengthy mishandling of Ontario’s energy policy.

read more at castanet.net

Don’t let Canada become haven for tax dodgers 

Criminals, kleptocrats, and tax evaders are taking advantage of Canada’s stellar reputation as an open and honest place to conduct business. Today, Transparency International released its annual Corruption Perception Index, giving Canada a commendable 82 out of 100 transparency score and ranking Canada as the ninth least corrupt country out of 177. Canada owes this ranking to our people’s expectations of ethical behaviour, strong public institutions, a free press, and an engrained rule of law.

However, look beyond Canada’s low corruption ranking and within its institutions, real threats hide in plain sight. Our system is being used as a getaway vehicle for corrupt politicians, drug traffickers, tax evaders, and every kind of thief to launder the money from their criminal enterprises. There are few places on Earth where it is easier to set up an anonymous company. That makes Canada an attractive place for people looking to avoid the scrutiny of law enforcement or tax authorities. A corrupt foreign politician can come to Canada and have a nominee set up a company or trust for their benefit, and make it nearly impossible for anyone to determine its true ownership.

Source: Don’t let Canada become haven for tax dodgers | Toronto Star