Let’s call Carney’s Brookfield Bermuda move what it is: tax avoidance, now no longer allowed
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a press conference at the Port of Montreal in Montreal, Canada, on March 28.ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP/Getty Images
Allan Lanthier is a retired partner of an international accounting firm and has been an adviser to both the Department of Finance and the Canada Revenue Agency.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney is being dogged by questions regarding his time at Brookfield Asset Management, and the fact he co-chaired investment funds worth about $25-billion registered in Bermuda, a tax haven.
Mr. Carney says the tax strategy was designed to benefit Canadian pension plans and that there was no avoidance of tax. The former is true, but the latter is not. Booking profits in a tax haven is indeed tax avoidance.
While there are many corporations and partnerships in the Brookfield empire, let’s summarize how Canadian corporate tax rules work for the funds Mr. Carney co-chaired.
If a Canadian public company owns a subsidiary in Bermuda, there is no tax in Bermuda when business income is earned. Nor is there Canadian tax when the Canadian........
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