Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2018-04-25 19:55:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Pat Kelly (Calgary Rocky Ridge, CPC)",
        "fr": "M. Pat Kelly (Calgary Rocky Ridge, PCC)"
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"5357402\" data-originallang=\"en\">Madam Speaker, for months last year, the <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">Prime Minister</a> and the <a data-HoCid=\"214329\" href=\"/politicians/diane-lebouthillier/\" title=\"Diane Lebouthillier\">revenue minister </a> patted themselves on the back and made all kinds of claims regarding their attempt to recoup income taxes in particular from tax havens. There were repeated questions from different parties on the opposition benches that challenged them on what was being done to ensure the recovery of money from those who seek to evade taxes in Canada through tax havens. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357403\" data-originallang=\"en\">They would say things like what the minister said on November 6:</p>\n<blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5357404\" data-originallang=\"en\"> In fact, over the past two years, we have invested nearly $1 billion to combat tax havens. This investment has helped our efforts to recover nearly $25 billion. </p>\n</blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5357405\" data-originallang=\"en\">They have recovered nearly $25 billion according to that statement on November 6. The same day, she said, \u201cOur efforts have borne fruit. We are about to recoup $25 billion.\u201d </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357406\" data-originallang=\"en\">These are the kinds of things the government has said. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357407\" data-originallang=\"en\">Then on November 16, CBC ran a news story and exposed what they called \u201ca lot of baloney\u201d. CBC said that it was complete nonsense, that the $25 billion the government had referred to was really a multi-year number, mostly a result of domestic audits, not from offshore evasion. It included things like GST evasion or lack of remittance. Actually, only $1.8 billion in annual evasion or aggressive avoidance was included in that $25 billion that the minister, and the <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">Prime Minister</a> for that matter, repeated over and over again last fall. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357408\" data-originallang=\"en\">Officials in the department clarified and made the point that a lot of that money will never be collected, that this was money they assess, and believe will be assessed, and that by the time they are finished with the objection process, litigation, tax court, etc., perhaps half of that money may be collected. This is not the offshore evasion piece that members of both parties on the opposition benches have questioned them about. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357409\" data-originallang=\"en\">That brings me to the question I asked the minister on December 5. I said: </p>\n<blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5357410\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Mr. Speaker, the government has been targeting small businesses and people with disabilities while patting itself on the back for supposedly recovering $25 billion from cheaters, including from offshore shelters. </p>\n</blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5357411\" data-originallang=\"en\">She went on to reply, with a subtle backpedal, that they were on track to recoup $25 billion as a result of audits conducted over the past two years. No longer was that the number they were actually going to recover through going after offshore evaders. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357412\" data-originallang=\"en\">For months the minister was misleading and completely disingenuous in the statements she made in the House to many questions about the serious issue of offshore evasion and avoidance. Therefore, I wonder if tonight we could perhaps hear from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue what they actually think they may be able to accomplish with their stated goal to collect and recapture taxes from offshore evaders and avoiders. </p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"5357402\" data-originallang=\"en\">Madame la Pr\u00e9sidente, pendant plusieurs mois l'an dernier, le <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">premier ministre</a> et la <a data-HoCid=\"214329\" href=\"/politicians/diane-lebouthillier/\" title=\"Diane Lebouthillier\">ministre du Revenu national</a> ont fait toutes sortes de d\u00e9clarations au sujet du travail qu'ils faisaient pour r\u00e9cup\u00e9rer les imp\u00f4ts impay\u00e9s, particuli\u00e8rement dans le cas de paradis fiscaux, et ils s'en congratulaient. Les partis de l'opposition leur ont pos\u00e9 maintes questions pour savoir ce qu'on faisait exactement pour r\u00e9cup\u00e9rer les sommes impay\u00e9es par les personnes qui ont recours aux paradis fiscaux pour \u00e9viter de payer de l'imp\u00f4t au Canada.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357403\" data-originallang=\"en\">Voici, \u00e0 titre d'exemple, ce qu'a d\u00e9clar\u00e9 la ministre le 6 novembre: </p>\n<blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5357404\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Justement, pour contrer les paradis fiscaux, au cours des deux derni\u00e8res ann\u00e9es, nous avons investi pr\u00e8s de 1 milliard de dollars, ce qui nous a permis d'aller r\u00e9cup\u00e9rer pr\u00e8s de 25 milliards de dollars. </p>\n</blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5357405\" data-originallang=\"en\">D'apr\u00e8s cette d\u00e9claration faite le 6 novembre, le gouvernement aurait r\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 pr\u00e8s de 25 milliards de dollars. La ministre a aussi dit, le m\u00eame jour: \u00ab Nos efforts ont port\u00e9 leurs fruits, puisque nous sommes tout pr\u00e8s de r\u00e9cup\u00e9rer 25 milliards de dollars. \u00bb </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357406\" data-originallang=\"en\">C'est le genre de choses que le gouvernement a affirm\u00e9.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357407\" data-originallang=\"en\">Puis, le 16 novembre, CBC a publi\u00e9 un article montrant que certaines affirmations \u00e9taient des fausset\u00e9s et n'avaient absolument aucun sens. Les 25 milliards de dollars dont parlait le gouvernement avaient en fait \u00e9t\u00e9 r\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9s sur plusieurs ann\u00e9es, principalement gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 des v\u00e9rifications faites au pays, et n'avaient rien \u00e0 voir avec les paradis fiscaux. Cette somme comprenait des montants de TPS qui n'avaient pas \u00e9t\u00e9 pay\u00e9s. En fait, l'\u00e9vasion fiscale et l'\u00e9vitement fiscal abusif ne repr\u00e9sentaient que 1,8 milliard de dollars sur les 25 milliards de dollars r\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9s dont la ministre et le <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">premier ministre</a> n'ont cess\u00e9 de parler l'automne dernier.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357408\" data-originallang=\"en\">Les fonctionnaires du minist\u00e8re ont pr\u00e9cis\u00e9 qu'une grande partie de cet argent ne serait jamais r\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9, qu'ils avaient fait une estimation de ce qui pourrait \u00eatre r\u00e9clam\u00e9, et que, une fois termin\u00e9s les processus d'opposition, les proc\u00e8s, les proc\u00e9dures devant la cour de l'imp\u00f4t et tout le reste, on arriverait peut-\u00eatre \u00e0 r\u00e9cup\u00e9rer la moiti\u00e9 de cet argent. Cela ne concerne pas l'\u00e9vasion fiscale au sujet de laquelle les deux partis de l'opposition ont questionn\u00e9 le gouvernement.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357409\" data-originallang=\"en\">D'ailleurs, voici la question que j'ai pos\u00e9e \u00e0 la ministre le 5 d\u00e9cembre:</p>\n<blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5357410\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, le gouvernement cible les petites entreprises et les personnes ayant un handicap tout en se f\u00e9licitant d'avoir suppos\u00e9ment recouvr\u00e9 25 milliards de dollars aupr\u00e8s de fraudeurs, y compris dans des abris fiscaux \u00e0 l'\u00e9tranger. </p>\n</blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5357411\" data-originallang=\"en\">Dans une subtile volte-face, sa r\u00e9ponse fut qu'ils allaient r\u00e9cup\u00e9rer 25 milliards de dollars gr\u00e2ce aux v\u00e9rifications men\u00e9es au cours des deux derni\u00e8res ann\u00e9es. Ils n'allaient plus r\u00e9cup\u00e9rer cette somme en s'attaquant aux fraudeurs qui exploitent les paradis fiscaux. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5357412\" data-originallang=\"en\">Pendant des mois, la ministre a induit la Chambre en erreur par ses r\u00e9ponses fourbes aux nombreuses questions pos\u00e9es au sujet de l'\u00e9vasion fiscale et de l'\u00e9vitement fiscal \u00e0 l'\u00e9tranger, des enjeux importants. Je me demande donc si la secr\u00e9taire parlementaire de la ministre du Revenu national pourrait nous dire ce soir ce que le gouvernement entend accomplir quant \u00e0 son objectif de percevoir et r\u00e9cup\u00e9rer les imp\u00f4ts impay\u00e9s de ceux qui exploitent les paradis fiscaux pour faire de l'\u00e9vasion fiscale et de l'\u00e9vitement fiscal. </p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2018/4/25/pat-kelly-1/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/pat-kelly/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/4238/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "10081422",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Adjournment Proceedings",
        "fr": "Motion D'Ajournement"
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Canada Revenue Agency",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2018/4/25/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2018%2F4%2F25%2F"
    }
}