Question

A recent survey asked: Is it morally wrong for corporations to use tax havens? Its results: Most said yes. See http://environicsresearch.com/insights/nine-ten-canadians-think-morally-wrong-canadian-corporations-use-tax-havens-new-poll/.

Delving deeper into the issue of tax avoidance, you will go beyond the news release. You will examine the polling data, not just the news release. You will round up the news coverage of the survey results. You will gain a sense of the public debates of tax avoidance in Canada. You will learn from relevant studies on tax justice in civil society by think tanks, governments and academics around the world.

Making good use of your research, you will write a 100-word note starting with the following:

It’s morally wrong for Canadian corporations to use tax havens because ….

That is, you will start by completing the sentence and then you will make your most compelling argument in your submission. You only have 100 words so make one compelling argument and make it well. You are required to demonstrate that you have done extensive research and made good use of your research to argue why it’s morally wrong for Canadian corporations to use tax havens.

Important: You cannot make up your own research question, e.g. you cannot argue it’s not morally wrong for Canadian corporations to use tax havens or you have reservations or … as that’s NOT the research question for this particular part of the research project. Think of this as an exam, in which you cannot make up your own exam questions for any reason.

Answer 1

90% of Canadians think that the use of tax havens by large corporations to avoid paying taxes is morally wrong, even if it’s legal, according to a new Environics poll for Canadians for Tax Fairness and Leadnow.

The poll also found that 87% of Canadians want the law changed to make tax havens illegal with ⅔ of those strongly supporting legislative action.

The poll follows the Paradise Papers leak and a report from Canadians for Tax Fairness that exposes the widespread use of tax havens by Canadian corporations: 56 of the top 60 corporations on the Toronto Stock Exchange list subsidiaries in known tax havens.

The poll was conducted in December by the research firm Environics, with a survey of 1012 adults from across Canada December 6 - 7, 2017, with a margin of error of +/- 3.2, 19 times out of 20.

“The poll results are consistent across provinces, income, ages, gender and language, clearly showing mass public opposition to corporate tax avoidance. Cracking down on tax havens is also a top priority for the Leadnow community,” said Brittany Smith, Fair Economy Campaigner. “Clearly people are tired of this massive corporate handout and are hungry for action. We’ll continue campaigning with our 400,000 members to make sure the Trudeau Liberals deliver.”

Some of the biggest corporations in Canada are paying lower tax rates than the average Canadian and much of that tax dodging is legal,” says Diana Gibson, a policy expert with Canadians for Tax Fairness, “Canadians obviously want to see that change.”

This is costing Canada $10 to $15 billion per year,” says Dennis Howlett, Executive Director of Canadians for Tax Fairness “There are some simple changes that can close the door to corporations using tax havens to avoid paying their fair share.”