Ottawa promises crackdown on loopholes that let big banks avoid billions in taxes

The federal government has singled out Canadian banks for gaming the tax system to artificially reduce their tax bills.

In the budget released Tuesday, Ottawa announced it will tighten tax rules “meant to prevent a small group of taxpayers, typically Canadian banks and other financial institutions, from gaining a tax advantage.”

The measure was one of a slew of reforms to prevent tax evasion and avoidance that Ottawa estimates will bring in almost $1 billion per year.

An investigation published by the Star and Corporate Knights magazine in December crunched six years of corporate financial data to show that Canada’s Big Five banks avoided an average of $3.8 billion in tax every year.

Despite being the most profitable companies in the country, Canadian banks pay 1/3 the tax rate of other large corporations. They also pay a lower rate of tax than big banks in any other G7 country.  (more...)

Ottawa promises crackdown on loopholes that let big banks avoid billions in taxes

Background:

Are the Canada Revenue Agency tax evasion raids a public relations exercise?