90% 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.
The poll also found that 87% of Canadians want the law changed to make tax havens illegal with ⅔ of those strongly supporting legislative action.
The poll follows the Paradise Papers leak and a report from Canadians for Tax Fairness that exposes the widespread use of tax havens by Canadian corporations: 56 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 1012 adults from across Canada December 6 - 7, 2017, with a margin of error of +/- 3.2, 19 times out of 20.
“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 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
For a list of policies to curtail corporate misuse of tax havens visit: http://www.taxfairness.ca/en/node/1041
For Leadnow’s petition on corporate tax havens visit: https://act.leadnow.ca/tax-avoiders/ Media contacts
- Brittany Smith, Fair Economy Campaigner: 416-841-4325
- Diana Gibson, Policy expert with Canadians for Tax Fairness: 780-910-0665
Leadnow.ca is an independent advocacy organization founded in 2010. The Leadnow.ca community has chosen four areas of focus: a fair economy, strong democracy, just society, and clean environment for all generations. Its members have ranked closing tax havens as one of its top priorities.
Canadians for Tax Fairness is a national organization that has been working to raise awareness about the need for action on tax havens, tax avoidance and tax fairness since 2011.
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