Panama papers money recovery

[CBH1926]

So far almost 500 million has been recouped, world wide from tax cheats.

Spain alone has gotten 156 million, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Ecuador have recovered tens of millions.

So far CRA has recouped zero, and most likely nothing will be disclosed until at least 2020.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/panama-papers-cra-tax-recovered-other-countries-1.4474827

[Warhippy]

CRA famously has recouped nothing and are still offering people deals ensuring they either pay back the minimum or pay back nothing and see no jail time.

 

Meanwhile I am still trying to figure out how to ensure I don't get audited for my travel again like last year resulting in 4 harassing phone calls over 140 kms and about $57.00

 

CRA as sworn to recoup roughly $25 billion from offshore tax havens as of 2016 but is estimating possibly $2.6 billion from the panama papers alone, yet has thus far recouped little to nothing and has cut many deals.

 

It's a frigging sham honestly.  Harper started offering deals, True Dough is doing the same and at days end if they see even $700 million it will be called a victory

[Russ]

I thought I had read that article a while ago.  How the CRA takes so much damn slower than everywhere else is embarrassing. Probably just allowing guys to somehow filter their money somewhere else. 

[Russ]

Just now, Warhippy said:

CRA famously has recouped nothing and are still offering people deals ensuring they either pay back the minimum or pay back nothing and see no jail time.

 

Meanwhile I am still trying to figure out how to ensure I don't get audited for my travel again like last year resulting in 4 harassing phone calls over 140 kms and about $57.00

Hahaha they always have their priorities.  Can't go after the rich but much easier to go after the poor over bull$&!#.

[Warhippy]

1 minute ago, Russ said:

Hahaha they always have their priorities.  Can't go after the rich but much easier to go after the poor over bull$&!#.

Had to finish editing that but yes, famously eating up the little guys but letting millions go untouched

[Ryan Strome]

13 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

Had to finish editing that but yes, famously eating up the little guys but letting millions go untouched

Billions my friend.

[luckylager]

26 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

CRA famously has recouped nothing and are still offering people deals ensuring they either pay back the minimum or pay back nothing and see no jail time.

 

Meanwhile I am still trying to figure out how to ensure I don't get audited for my travel again like last year resulting in 4 harassing phone calls over 140 kms and about $57.00

 

CRA as sworn to recoup roughly $25 billion from offshore tax havens as of 2016 but is estimating possibly $2.6 billion from the panama papers alone, yet has thus far recouped little to nothing and has cut many deals.

 

It's a frigging sham honestly.  Harper started offering deals, True Dough is doing the same and at days end if they see even $700 million it will be called a victory

CRA audited our child care expense claims for 2015 and 2016. I'm expecting them to waste our time (and your tax dollars) again this year. 

 

I'm not surprised they haven't recouped a penny in the panama papers case. I wouldn't be at all surprised if every Canadian on that list has ties to the former and/or current Government and would implicate senior gov officials.

 

Corporations hold far too much power in Canada and I'd bet those individuals have too much leverage to be exposed or prosecuted.

[nucklehead]

So what it will only go to their criminal accomplices in the form of exorbitant interest through which they make slaves of us all.  

[Alflives]

29 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

CRA famously has recouped nothing and are still offering people deals ensuring they either pay back the minimum or pay back nothing and see no jail time.

 

Meanwhile I am still trying to figure out how to ensure I don't get audited for my travel again like last year resulting in 4 harassing phone calls over 140 kms and about $57.00

 

CRA as sworn to recoup roughly $25 billion from offshore tax havens as of 2016 but is estimating possibly $2.6 billion from the panama papers alone, yet has thus far recouped little to nothing and has cut many deals.

 

It's a frigging sham honestly.  Harper started offering deals, True Dough is doing the same and at days end if they see even $700 million it will be called a victory

I got audited years ago on our farm taxes.  After nasty letters, and phone calls, it worked out the CRA owed me money.  I don’t understand why, but the Revenue Services likes attacking the little people over relative peanuts?

[Warhippy]

5 minutes ago, luckylager said:

CRA audited our child care expense claims for 2015 and 2016. I'm expecting them to waste our time (and your tax dollars) again this year. 

 

I'm not surprised they haven't recouped a penny in the panama papers case. I wouldn't be at all surprised if every Canadian on that list has ties to the former and/or current Government and would implicate senior gov officials.

 

Corporations hold far too much power in Canada and I'd bet those individuals have too much leverage to be exposed or prosecuted.

Which is why when people claim dropping corporate taxes will ensure investment I laugh my arse off.

 

When Harper dropped corporate taxes back in 09 the truth was corporations in canada were sitting on over $230 billion in cash reserves that they just refused to invest.  

 

These guys all know where the money lies, and they lie to keep that money where it is and safe.

[Violator]

5 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

Which is why when people claim dropping corporate taxes will ensure investment I laugh my arse off.

 

When Harper dropped corporate taxes back in 09 the truth was corporations in canada were sitting on over $230 billion in cash reserves that they just refused to invest.  

 

These guys all know where the money lies, and they lie to keep that money where it is and safe.

This is why we shouldnt let lawyers and accountants be politicians they just make it easier for friends.

[CBH1926]

There are two sets of rules, one set applies to wealthy, and the other set for the rest of us.

No matter which country you live in, the only difference is, in democracies you believe that we are all equal under the law.

[luckylager]

5 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

Which is why when people claim dropping corporate taxes will ensure investment I laugh my arse off.

 

When Harper dropped corporate taxes back in 09 the truth was corporations in canada were sitting on over $230 billion in cash reserves that they just refused to invest.  

 

These guys all know where the money lies, and they lie to keep that money where it is and safe.

Truth.

 

My father in law tried justifying the corp tax cuts with that exact argument. It made for a few uncomfortable visits until he actually looked into it and saw the reality of their massive reserves and the backwards thinking of putting the tax burden on the middle class.

 

Craziest thing is he turned so hard he started canvassing for the Green Party in Ottawa. Guess he started feeling the pinch in his retirement

[Lancaster]

53 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

CRA famously has recouped nothing and are still offering people deals ensuring they either pay back the minimum or pay back nothing and see no jail time.

 

Meanwhile I am still trying to figure out how to ensure I don't get audited for my travel again like last year resulting in 4 harassing phone calls over 140 kms and about $57.00

 

CRA as sworn to recoup roughly $25 billion from offshore tax havens as of 2016 but is estimating possibly $2.6 billion from the panama papers alone, yet has thus far recouped little to nothing and has cut many deals.

 

It's a frigging sham honestly.  Harper started offering deals, True Dough is doing the same and at days end if they see even $700 million it will be called a victory

A lot of people on the Panama Papers probably has friends in high places, thus are shielded from prosecution.  A huge team tax lawyers probably wouldn't hurt either. 

 

Easier for CRA to go after 100,000 people over $100 than it is to try to go through the huddles to catch one guy owing $10 million. 

[Ryan Strome]

Ottawa lent $1 billion to a mining company that allegedly avoided nearly $700 million in Canadian taxes

The Canadian government provided more than $1 billion in loans to a mining company that used a complex offshore business structure to allegedly avoid nearly $700 million in Canadian tax.

Turquoise Hill Resources, a Canadian company headquartered in Vancouver and listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges, received a loan of $750 million (U.S.) in 2015 from Export Development Canada, a Crown corporation that supports Canadian businesses abroad.

The loan is worth more than $1 billion Canadian, according to EDC’s disclosure database.

Between 2010 and 2016, Turquoise Hill ran the finances for its massive Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia through shell companies in Netherlands and Luxembourg, The arrangement allowed it to avoid paying $559 million (U.S.) in Canadian corporate income tax, worth $694 million Canadian at current exchange rates, according to a report put out by the Dutch NGO SOMO this week.

“There does seem to be a contradiction there,” said Karyn Keenan, director of Above Ground, an Ottawa-based NGO that advocates for corporate accountability.

 

“Should EDC be providing over a billion dollars of financing to a company that’s engaging in tax avoidance?” she asked. “EDC is a public institution. It’s an arm of the state. It should operate in a way that’s coherent with the policies and the stated aims of the government.”

“If the government of Canada is trying to impose a progressive tax regime to sustain the social contract with Canadians, then it’s surprising this kind of deal could happen,” Keenan said.

The loan was Canada’s portion of a $4.4-billion (U.S.) finance deal to expand the Oyu Tolgoi’s open pit with a second underground mine. The other sources of funds are EDC’s U.S. and Australian counterparts and 15 commercial banks, including CIBC and HSBC.

A EDC spokesperson, Phil Taylor, said due diligence is performed on all deals to make sure they comply with Canadian laws.

“We believe that the CRA is the ultimate authority on the appropriateness of Canadian corporate tax structures, and their specific approval in this case constitutes the final word on the matter from EDC’s perspective,” Taylor said.

Turquoise Hill disputed the SOMO report, saying the company had received approval from the Canada Revenue Agency for its tax structure.

“Turquoise Hill and Oyu Tolgoi are committed to tax transparency and Turquoise Hill believes that our tax practices are . . . compliant with local laws, international standards and voluntary commitments,” a company spokesperson, Tony Shaffer, wrote in an email.

“We believe a significant number of the statements presented as alleged facts in the SOMO report are inaccurate or unsubstantiated,” he said.

According to the report, which was based on public financial declarations, Turquoise Hill declared $2.1 billion in profit in Luxembourg, where it employs only one part-time staff member. The company paid $89 million in tax in Luxembourg — a tax rate of 4.2 per cent.

It paid no corporate income tax in Canada, the report states.

Export Development Canada is a self-financing Crown corporation that supports Canadian businesses operating abroad with insurance and loans.

“Our job is to support and develop Canada’s export trade,” states EDC’s website. “We are committed to the principles of corporate social responsibility. Our rigorous due diligence requirements ensure that all projects and transactions we support are financially, environmentally and socially responsible.”

EDC has signed on to multiple international guidelines and standards for ethical business conduct, including the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which states that companies should “refrain from seeking or accepting exemptions . . . related to . . . taxation.”

“Enterprises should comply with both the letter and the spirit of the tax laws and regulations in all countries in which they operate,” the guidelines state.

The SOMO report also alleged Turquoise Hill deprived the Mongolian government of $230 million, mostly the result of a contract that gave it favourable tax treatment, even when the tax treaty it was based upon was repealed.

In December, the Mongolian government handed Turquoise Hill a $155-million tax bill that the company is disputing.

“Turquoise Hill is of the firm view that Oyu Tolgoi LLC has paid all taxes and charges required under the Investment agreement . . . and Mongolian law,” the company said in a statement at the time.

 

Above Ground’s Keenan said it’s common for multinational companies to stockpile their profits in a tax haven.

“It’s a race to the bottom” made worse by the fact that “Canada is using this public institution to support a company that is undermining the fiscal basis for both Mongolia and Canada,” she said.

Parliament reviews EDC’s mandate every 10 years, and will be asked to do so again in 2018. Keenan would like to see the government add stricter criteria to lending to make sure EDC doesn’t fund operations that evade tax, participate in environmental degradation or human rights abuses.

“There are reasonable questions whether EDC is getting it right,” she said. “The government should be actively involved in overseeing EDC’s deals.”

Oyo Tolgoi, which is expected to become the third-largest copper mine in the world when it reaches peak production in 2025, was discovered by Ivanhoe Mines in 2001.

The Canadian company was founded by Robert Friedland, a U.S.-born Canadian citizen now living in Singapore, who spent years developing the stake before partnering with British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto in 2006.

Rio Tinto took control of the company in 2012, and Friedland left, taking his corporate name with him. The company was rebranded Turquoise Hill, the English translation of Oyo Tolgoi.

In 2015, Friedland sold his shares of Turquoise Hill for approximately $200 million, according to Bloomberg data. He is no longer associated with Turquoise Hill.

In 2016, Friedland was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame, which called him “a dynamic, transformative force in the Canadian and international mining industries” and “one of the most recognized mining personalities and achievers in the world,” according to his online bio.

Friedland did not return a request for comment sent to his new mining company, also called Ivanhoe Mines.

 

https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2018/02/05/ottawa-lent-1-billion-to-a-mining-company-that-allegedly-avoided-nearly-700-million-in-canadian-taxes.html

[Russ]

57 minutes ago, luckylager said:

CRA audited our child care expense claims for 2015 and 2016. I'm expecting them to waste our time (and your tax dollars) again this year. 

 

I'm not surprised they haven't recouped a penny in the panama papers case. I wouldn't be at all surprised if every Canadian on that list has ties to the former and/or current Government and would implicate senior gov officials.

 

Corporations hold far too much power in Canada and I'd bet those individuals have too much leverage to be exposed or prosecuted.

Last year I had a paper sent to me that they reaudited my 2009 tax returns.  8 years later...... They found no change in my taxes..... How much money was wasted for them going over papers 8 years ago for nothing.  Hell they reaudited someone I know years ago that was found that they paid 60 cents too much.  The stamp to send the letter to tell them the government owed them 60 cents cost more than 60 cents and the person felt it was a waste of bloody time to get paid out lol.

 

They should go after each person, cut no deals and our taxes would be actually used for useful stuff for once.

[luckylager]

41 minutes ago, Russ said:

Last year I had a paper sent to me that they reaudited my 2009 tax returns.  8 years later...... They found no change in my taxes..... How much money was wasted for them going over papers 8 years ago for nothing.  Hell they reaudited someone I know years ago that was found that they paid 60 cents too much.  The stamp to send the letter to tell them the government owed them 60 cents cost more than 60 cents and the person felt it was a waste of bloody time to get paid out lol.

 

They should go after each person, cut no deals and our taxes would be actually used for useful stuff for once.

I'm surprised they didn't waste our time further by going after every child care receipt since 2008. 

 

Also surprised they didn't ask for receipts for maxed out child sport and child arts benefits. Would have happily crammed the photocopies in an envelope I dropped a loogie into. Fricken sewer rats, getting all up in the middle class and letting billion dollars giants pay less than you or I do in taxes. System is broken.

[Alflives]

5 minutes ago, luckylager said:

I'm surprised they didn't waste our time further by going after every child care receipt since 2008. 

 

Also surprised they didn't ask for receipts for maxed out child sport and child arts benefits. Would have happily crammed the photocopies in an envelope I dropped a loogie into. Fricken sewer rats, getting all up in the middle class and letting billion dollars giants pay less than you or I do in taxes. System is broken.

Seriously, these people are a lot like the ICBC insurance freaks, who try to cheap out on insurance claims.  Do these cooperations only higher sociopaths for these jobs?

[luckylager]

4 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Seriously, these people are a lot like the ICBC insurance freaks, who try to cheap out on insurance claims.  Do these cooperations only higher sociopaths for these jobs?

Nope, they hire brainless puppets to keep the left hand from knowing what the right hand is doing.

[Ryan Strome]

7 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Seriously, these people are a lot like the ICBC insurance freaks, who try to cheap out on insurance claims.  Do these cooperations only higher sociopaths for these jobs?

Good point Alf. Btw by corporations I believe you mean the government.