Evidence of meeting #129 for Finance in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was treaties.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Yes, exactly. In fact, anybody who is left there after the agreement comes into force is going to have to find another jurisdiction.
This is sort of like a nuclear proliferation agreement. If you don't have agreement from every country that's involved, you could have a rogue state that causes difficulties for everybody. Is that fair to say?
Senior Chief, Tax Treaties, Department of Finance
Well, that's why we've been busy negotiating with the TIEA countries so far, and we intend to continue to do so. The exchange of information as a principle is a good thing. We should have that with everyone—
Conservative
Senior Chief, Tax Treaties, Department of Finance
We've negotiated 30 TIEAs. Sixteen are in force. Six are signed. The rest are under negotiation.
Conservative
Conservative
Senior Chief, Tax Treaties, Department of Finance
I believe they are. Certainly, we've been establishing a relationship with these jurisdictions, and yes, I think they are successful.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Would you consider $2.5 billion in extra revenues in 2013-14 a good start in data collection? That's what I understand: that the 75 new measures we've brought in over the last five or six years have brought in extra moneys to that degree.
Senior Chief, Tax Treaties, Department of Finance
I'm not sure that I could put a dollar figure on it.
Conservative
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
It's that range, though, of billions of dollars?
Senior Chief, Tax Treaties, Department of Finance
It's obviously more revenue than we've been collecting so far. Yes, absolutely.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
How successful have the other tools been in combatting this? It sounds like the end result is very successful, but how has it been utilized successfully to combat tax evasion?
Senior Chief, Tax Treaties, Department of Finance
Do you want to comment on that, Ted?
Ted Cook Senior Legislative Chief, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
Yes.
Perhaps I'll provide some comments.
Senior Legislative Chief, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
You talked about the 75 measures. That's kind of a listing of the number of integrity measures—
Conservative
Senior Legislative Chief, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
No, that's going back several years.
Going to a larger point, exchange of information is just one component in dealing with the tax system and ensuring that it operates in the correct fashion. Certainly, when I've been in front of the committee before, we've talked about tax planning such as foreign tax credit generators, which have been responded to in budget 2010.
Budget 2013 has a number of specific measures. For example, there will be reporting of electronic fund transfers of more than $10,000. Currently this reporting is just going to FINTRAC, but will now be going directly to the CRA, streamlining the ability to get unnamed requirements with respect to information regarding taxpayers.
There's a whole host of measures. It's a puzzle that you put together using a number of different pieces.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
It sounds like we almost have a good, effective picture of that puzzle, though, don't we?
Thank you, Mr. Cook.
