moved for leave to introduce Bill C-362, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (economic substance).
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to introduce a bill that would amend the Income Tax Act of Canada.
I would like to thank my colleague, the hon. member for Sherbrooke, who seconded this bill.
This bill would crack down on abusive tax avoidance by denying tax breaks to transactions that lack real economic substance. These empty transactions, designed solely to avoid taxes, would no longer qualify for tax breaks.
Three years ago, I introduced a similar bill. Dr. Robert McMechan was present in the gallery. He was an expert in the field and was calling for this reform in his acclaimed book on international tax evasion. He has since passed away. Today I want to formally recognize his years of service to Canada as general counsel in the tax litigation section of the Department of Justice, and also acknowledge how valuable his expertise was to me in preparing this bill.
The bill would bring our laws up to speed with places like the United States, where President Obama used a similar law to raise billions for health care. It would build trust in the fairness and integrity of our tax system and recover hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue so we can offer better public services to Canadians. I look forward to discussing it with all members.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)