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“There are some simple changes that can close the door to corporations using tax havens to avoid paying their fair share.” — Dennis Howlett, Executive Director, Canadians for Tax Fairness
Toronto (15 Dec. 2017) — 90 per cent of Canadians think that the use of tax havens by large corporations to avoid paying taxes is morally wrong, even if it’s legal, according to a new Environics poll for Canadians for Tax Fairness and Leadnow.
Majority of Canadians want government to crack down on tax avoidance
The poll also found that 87 per cent of Canadians want the law changed to make tax havens illegal, with two-thirds of those strongly supporting legislative action.
The poll follows the Paradise Papers leak and a report from Canadians for Tax Fairness that expose the widespread use of tax havens by Canadian corporations: Fifty-six of the top 60 corporations on the Toronto Stock Exchange list subsidiaries in known tax havens.
The poll was conducted in December by the research firm Environics, with a survey of 1,012 adults from across Canada on December 6 — 7, 2017, with a margin of error of +/- 3.2, 19 times out of 20.
Canada losing up to $15B per year to tax havens
“The poll results are consistent across provinces, income, ages, gender and language, clearly showing mass public opposition to corporate tax avoidance. Cracking down on tax havens is also a top priority for the Leadnow community,” said Brittany Smith, Fair Economy campaigner. “Clearly people are tired of this massive corporate handout and are hungry for action. We’ll continue campaigning with our 400,000 members to make sure the Trudeau Liberals deliver.”
“Some of the biggest corporations in Canada are paying lower tax rates than the average Canadian and much of that tax dodging is legal,” says Diana Gibson, a policy expert with Canadians for Tax Fairness. “Canadians obviously want to see that change.”
“This is costing Canada $10 billion to $15 billion per year,” says Dennis Howlett, Executive Director of Canadians for Tax Fairness “There are some simple changes that can close the door to corporations using tax havens to avoid paying their fair share.”
Full poll results visit: https://s3.amazonaws.com/leadnow/Environics+Tax+Havens+tabs+Dec+8-17.pdf.