Minister Lebouthillier strengthens international partnerships to fight offshore tax fraud, evasion and aggressive tax avoidance

PARIS, Feb. 21, 2018 /CNW/ - Strengthening tax fairness by working with international partners to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance is a key commitment for the Government of Canada and will help to ensure that the tax system is fair for all Canadians.

Today, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, announced that, this fall, Canada will host a Large Business and International Programme meeting of tax experts on international tax compliance issues. Hosting this meeting will further support the Government of Canada's promise of a fair tax system, as well as its commitment to being a leader in the global effort to combat tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.

The Minister made this announcement as she concluded meetings in Paris with senior officials of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), where she emphasized Canada's commitment to increase international collaboration to address tax cheating more effectively.

As a part of this visit, Minister Lebouthillier also met with Adama Ouane, Administrator of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie as well as the Deputy Secretary General of the Centre de Rencontres et d'Etudes des Dirigeants des Administrations Fiscales, an organization composed of tax administrations from 30 French-speaking countries. They discussed Canada's role in reinforcing tax capabilities in developing francophone countries.

Quotes

"This important trip helped us strengthen and foster the important relationships we have created with our overseas partners in the fight against offshore tax evasion. Canada plays a major role in international efforts. Multilateral collaboration and the exchange of information between countries are the most important tools we have to ensure our tax system is fair and that tax cheats face the full consequences of their actions."

- The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue

"I was pleased to meet with Minister Lebouthillier to discuss Canada's important contribution to the work of the OECD. It is more important than ever to ensure that countries continue to work together to improve the international tax landscape through global cooperation and vigilance in tax administration."

-Pascal St-Amans, Director, Centre of Tax Policy and Administration for the OECD

Quick Facts ? Collaboration between Canada and the OECD

• Through the OECD Forum on Tax Administration (FTA), 50 countries work together to deal with international risks, improve compliance and the overall delivery of tax administration. Canada (Commissioner Bob Hamilton) is the vice-chair of the FTA and leads the Large Business and International Programme with the goal of promoting tax compliance and improving tax certainty for tax administrations and large multinational enterprises.
• Canada (Commissioner Bob Hamilton) also leads FTA efforts to support developing countries strengthen their overall tax administration capacity.
• Canada supports the Country-by-Country reporting initiative of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project of the OECD. This initiative allows tax administrations to have a better understanding of multinational enterprises' worldwide operations. This effective new tool will help tax administrations identify high-risk taxpayers and better target their efforts and resources. 
• Canada leads global efforts to implement BEPS through the Large Business and International Programme.
• Through this programme, members work together to develop frameworks to improve individual and collective capacity to manage and work with large businesses. Through this collaboration, members have been striving to reduce burden and improve compliance outcomes for both tax administrations and businesses.
• As of 2017, large multinational enterprises with annual revenues of more than ?750 million, must file details of business and tax activities for each country where they operate.
• Canada plays a strong role and is leading projects in the Joint International Taskforce on Shared Intelligence and Collaboration, a network of more than 37 countries working together to tackle aggressive tax avoidance and evasion.

Associated Links

Government of Canada cracks down on tax evasion
Cracking down on offshore tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance
Tax cheating. There are consequences.
Criminal investigations actions, charges, and convictions

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SOURCE Canada Revenue Agency