One point arising from that is this whole issue of cost, and I'd like some comment on it.
Tax law in Canada, as we all know, is very complicated, and thousands of individuals out there make their livings as tax lawyers and tax accountants. They're very knowledgeable and very smart. Of course, they're paid to help Canadians, Canadian companies, and foreign companies arrange their affairs so that they attract the least amount of tax, which is the principle of Canadian tax law within certain conditions.
I practised law for 25 years. I wasn't involved in these transactions, but I've seen them, and some of these people are, from my experience, very aggressive. If there's any uncertainty or lack of clarity in the law or the regulations, they will certainly take advantage of it. A lot of them won't be caught; there won't be an audit, or there'll be some kind of settlement, and there's always that give and take. The more uncertainty and the more lack of clarity there is, the greater the business for these individuals.
It's my suspicion that because we're not introducing technical amendments and because we have this state of uncertainty--I know the comfort letters are good, but that's not the law--it would be costing Canadian taxpayers millions and millions, if not billions and billions, of dollars in lost tax revenue. Does anyone have any comment on that?
I know that nobody has an exact figure, but I've seen these transactions, and they involve foreign companies and foreign trusts and companies domiciled in the Cayman Islands. It's a very complicated area, and if they can use uncertainty to argue their case, the big loser at the end of the day is the taxpayer. Do you have any comment as to the cost incurred by taxpayers?