For the first time since 2011, Canadian businesses have pulled their money out of tax havens, ending a five-year run when more than $120 billion was stashed in the 10 most popular low-tax or no-tax countries.
The numbers, released by Statistics Canada, show that the Panama Papers may have had a chilling effect on businesses using tax havens to minimize corporate taxes. Canadian businesses reduced their holdings in the top 10 tax havens from $272.4 billion in 2015 to $261 billion at the end of last year, according to the government’s official foreign direct investment statistics.
The Panama Papers investigation revealed the kind of illicit activities that go behind the closed doors of law offices and banks in tax havens like Panama, Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands. The Papers revealed massive tax fraud, bribes and corrupt politics.
Read more at The Star
