Sunday, January 29, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Parallel world for the very rich and the very corrupt hurts honest taxpayers: New MLI Commentary by Arthur Cockfield

November 19, 2021
in Commentary, Domestic Policy Program, Economic policy, Issues, Latest News, Library, Releases
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

OTTAWA, ON (November 19, 2021): The Pandora Papers, a massive tax haven data leak, revealed how wealthy elites are able to exploit lower tax rates abroad to avoid paying taxes at home. In a new MLI commentary titled “Pandora Papers reveal parallel financial world for the wealthy,” author Arthur Cockfield focuses on the offshore world’s role in enhancing the wealth of the very rich or very corrupt, and how this practice works to the detriment of average citizens around the world.

As Cockfield notes, the Pandora Papers reveal three primary beneficiaries from the offshore world: criminals, millionaires, and multinational corporations.

Wealthy criminals use the offshore world to anonymize their financial misdeeds. Moreover, in low-income countries, the offshore world aids and abets criminals in draining governments of valuable resources while citizens languish in dire conditions. Millionaires, according to Cockfield, leverage the offshore world to legally reduce their tax bills, exploiting loopholes not available to ordinary income taxpayers. Finally, multinational corporations set up shell companies in tax havens to legally reduce global tax liabilities, providing higher returns for wealthier shareholders.

This continued tax evasion with impunity, alongside stagnated middle-class incomes, could fan the flames of anti-democratic sentiment. As Cockfield warns, “in some countries, grow­ing income inequality is encouraging unhealthy forms of populism, national­ism, nativism and anti-immigrant sentiment – all of which can lead to anti-democratic outcomes.”

To address the challenges presented by tax havens, the federal government has budgeted over $1 billion to help the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) enforce its tax laws around offshore tax evasion and aggressive international tax planning. However, as the author notes, this is undermined by Canada’s poor record on prosecuting offshore tax cheats; the failure to hold those accountable could result in an erosion in taxpayer morale, leading to a reduction in tax compliance and tax revenues.

On the international stage, Canada has joined other governments in attempting to make the global tax system more transparent. Recently, Ottawa signed onto an international agreement to implement a minimum 15 percent corporate income tax rate on foreign profits, as well as a second agreement to target large technology firms with global annual sales of over €750 million. But these global agreements may falter if governments cannot agree on detailed rules to implement the frameworks.

As the author notes, governments presumably did not purposefully create a paradise for crimi­nals. However, we have tried to inhibit criminal behaviour to little effect for decades. To curb tax evasion, it will take political commitment, resources, and government willingness to be held ac­countable for outcomes. Ultimately though, the costs of failing to curb tax evasion are far greater than the costs of implementing a more effective approach.

“In an era where gov­ernments are increasingly worried about the anti-democratic costs associated with growing income inequality, now is the time to take action,” urges Cockfield.

To read the full commentary, click on the button below.

***

Arthur Cockfield is a Professor and Associate Dean (Academic) with Queen’s University Faculty of Law. He is a member of the Offshore Compliance Advisory Committee, a federal government committee formed to evaluate Canada’s ties to the offshore world.

 For more information, media are invited to contact:

Brett Byers
Communications and Digital Media Manager
613-482-8327 x105
brett.byers@macdonaldlaurier.ca

 

Tags: Arthur Cockfieldtax policytaxation
Previous Post

Did the Biden-Xi virtual summit accomplish anything? Stephen Nagy in the Japan Times

Next Post

Why the US needs to reset its approach to the conflict in Ethiopia: Yonas Biru for Inside Policy

Related Posts

Canada can help Ukraine in better ways than sending tanks: Richard Shimooka in the Hub
Columns

Canada can help Ukraine in better ways than sending tanks: Richard Shimooka in the Hub

January 27, 2023
Just as Canadians see smartphone bills head down, the cost of watching online content on them may be going up: Peter Menzies in the Financial Post
Columns

Want cheaper cellphone bills? Allow more foreign investment in telecoms: Aaron Wudrick in the National Post

January 27, 2023
Face it, millennials – There is no realistic alternative to capitalism: Philip Cross in the Financial Post
Columns

Face it, millennials – There is no realistic alternative to capitalism: Philip Cross in the Financial Post

January 27, 2023
Next Post
Why the US needs to reset its approach to the conflict in Ethiopia: Yonas Biru for Inside Policy

Why the US needs to reset its approach to the conflict in Ethiopia: Yonas Biru for Inside Policy

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Follow us on

Newsletter Signup

First Name
Last Name
Email Address

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

Inside Policy Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Back Issues
  • Advertising
  • Inside Policy Blog
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

IDEAS CHANGE THE WORLD!Have the latest Canadian thought leadership delivered straight to your inbox.
First Name
Last Name
Email address

No thanks, I’m not interested.