Canada Reiterates Bank Tax Opposition

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

20 May 2010

Speaking in Ottawa on May 18, Industry Minister, Tony Clement and Foreign Affairs Minister, Lawrence Cannon underscored Canada’s steadfast rejection of a global bank tax on financial institutions, as part of a campaign to drum up support for opposition.

The ministers' message was echoed by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Treasury Board President and Minister for the Asia–Pacific Gateway Stockwell Day, and International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan during their respective trips to India, China and Washington DC.

“Canada’s banking sector has been recognized as the world’s soundest. Our banks acted responsibly to avoid trouble throughout the recession, and it makes no sense to impose a punitive tax on them now,” Clement said in his address.

“Canada is, and will remain, opposed to a tax that would penalize financial institutions that remained strong and prosperous while many of the world’s banks failed,” he affirmed.

A statement posted by the government on its website said that while Canada is committed to establishing a strong regulatory framework for the global financial sector, it will oppose any efforts to impose a bank tax that would place Canada’s banks at a competitive disadvantage. Instead, Canada is urging other countries to consider bolstering their capital adequacy rules.

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