Compiled by Due Diligence
The seeds of Canadian corporations hiding billions of dollars in offshore tax havens were sewn more than 40 years ago, after the Canadian government pursued a series of tax treaties with tiny Caribbean and European nations.
The 92 tax treaties now signed with countries such as Barbados, Jamaica and Malta currently translate into billions of dollars moving out of Canada — nearly all tax free. This includes 22 tax information exchange agreements, where the sharing of tax information is intended to weed out evaders – The Star
On June 8, Barbados’ Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, the Honourable Donville Inniss hosted an Invest Barbados seminar in Toronto with the theme titled: “Supporting Business of Substance”. During the seminar, Minister Inniss addressed the audience on the topic: ‘Welcoming International Business to Barbados’.
More details by accessing the following links:
On June 17 and 18, the Toronto Star ran scathing “Tax Haven” articles prominently featuring Barbados as one of the counties/jurisdictions used by Canadian companies to avoid paying billions of dollars of income tax to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), specifically mentioning Gildan and Valeant.
See articles at:
While certainly not the intention of The Star, their articles may have the effect of reinforcing Minister Inniss’ pitch of doing business in Barbados to legally avoid Canadian income tax.
There is an interesting interview of Minister Inniss published on March 10, 2016, at:
Interview with Donville Inniss, minister of industry
Minister Inniss is quoted as saying:
Over time, as we have moved away from an agrarian society and more into a service-based one, we have found ourselves producing more and more products for international business and the financial services sector, to the extent now where it has become the second most important part of the economy. We currently have over 4,000 companies licensed in this particular industry, with 5,000 or so employees, making a five percent contribution to our national economy.
It strikes me that Minister Inniss may be shooting himself in his foot with that statement. 4,000 companies with 5,000 employees. That is slightly more than 1 employee per company, which would presumably include nominee Directors.Hardly a big employer of Barbadians; other than Directors and tax lawyers and accountants.
Given the mounting pressure in Canada to make Canadian companies pay their “fair share”, Minister Inniss should be honing his negotiation skills, because he is going to have to be at the top of his game, or punching over his weight, when the Canadians come to renegotiate the tax treaties.
BU recently stated:
Is this the same Minister Donville Inniss who today [16 June 2016] invited disgruntled stakeholders to pursue established government channels to solve problems and avoid the traditional and social media?
DD says “Will he Minister Inniss now be inviting disgruntled Canadian taxpayers to avoid reading the Toronto Star?”
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.