That's a very good question. Given my field of expertise, I think the observable gap you mentioned can't be strictly analyzed from an accounting perspective. Certainly math is involved, but it's not a matter of just throwing out some numbers. Instead, I think the situation keeps escalating. I'll explain quickly.
According to Statistics Canada, Canadian businesses have "invested" about $200 billion in the 10 main tax havens where the businesses are located. I won't get into that assessment, which strikes me as extremely low. We can take into consideration that these funds are not taxed, but it would be a mistake to look only at that type of data. Afterward, it's obvious that, to retain capital—in my work, I quote finance ministers who use this type of expression explicitly—and to prevent it from flowing out like other capital, the tendency of Canadian federal and provincial governments has been to reduce the corporate income tax rate.
At the federal level, for example, the rate was 38% in 1981 and is now 15%. The capital tax has been abolished, and a large number of taxation measures have been reduced, resulting in less cash going into the public purse. Not only is a large amount of capital leaving the country as a result of tax evasion, but the remaining capital is taxed less because, to retain capital, Canada is imitating tax havens. The situation thus keeps escalating. The government is unable to balance the budget, but is incurring debt from financial institutions that are no longer being taxed or are being taxed less than before. Servicing the debt therefore enters the equation. This also explains tax evasion because, obviously, a link exists between tax revenues and government spending. Fees are then charged for services that were previously free for all citizens, or public services are simply cut outright, as we are seeing now. The gap must be assessed using sociological factors and criteria because multiple issues are at play. Every day, our population pays a high price as a result of tax evasion, because it also leads to policy and accounting logic that is hard to calculate but no less real.