Hi Folks,

It is interesting to note that the USA was able to penetrate international banking privacy under the guise of catching terrorists, and now privacy  penetration is so common place that Canada is able to do it with no good excuse.

The days of privacy ended with the first good excuse which was 9/11. That was the day I stopped recommending offshore as a way to have complete privacy. Offshore still offers privacy to some extent but not when it comes to the tax man.

The tax man would be a lot better off getting Canadians on side by implementing fair taxation. Right now there is a ton of pissed off Canadians who have been financially ruined by overly punative practices.

Dan White

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Canadian tax evaders warned

Aug 21, 2009 04:30 AM
Richard J. Brennan
OTTAWA BUREAU

OTTAWA–Revenue Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn says Ottawa is trying to get access to Canadians’ bank account information in so-called tax havens like Switzerland.

He told the Toronto Star yesterday that efforts are being made to change rules and regulations so Ottawa can go after Canadians with money stashed in secret bank accounts to avoid paying taxes.

“Also we need … agreements with other countries to exchange information,” he said, adding that Ottawa is already in discussion with about 10 countries. “We want to obtain all the legislative authority to be able to pursue those people who (engage in) tax avoidance.”

Blackburn was reacting to the fact the U.S. Department of Justice has cracked the tradition of strict banking secrecy with an agreement forcing UBS AG, the Zurich-based financial giant, to hand over the names behind 4,450 accounts as part of a historic lawsuit settlement.

Blackburn said his department has proposed changes to the finance department to streamline efforts to go after offshore accounts if tax avoidance is suspected and to find out when money is transferred out of the country.

Blackburn said now when Canadian officials try to get banking data from other countries it takes up to six years for a private individual and seven years for a business.

The minister also asked U.S. justice officials to notify Ottawa if any data they get from UBS has pertinent information on Canadians.