Canada enhances international tax assistance

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Canada enhances international tax assistance

canadaflag.jpg

Canada is one step closer to enhanced tax cooperation and will soon be involved in simultaneous and international tax examinations, argues Carrie Aiken Bereti of Blake, Cassels & Graydon.

At the G20 summit earlier this month in Cannes, France, all G20 countries, including Canada represented by the Minister of Finance, participated in a ceremony to mark the signing of the protocol updating the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

Other signatories include Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Iceland, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine. The protocol is the result of a joint project of the OECD and the Council of Europe.

The objective of the multilateral convention is to provide a stable framework for governments to combat tax avoidance and evasion by sharing tax information in accordance with the latest internationally-agreed standards as developed by the OECD.

It promotes international cooperation between tax authorities to improve the application of the domestic tax laws of the signatory countries. Canadian Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty said of the multilateral convention:

“This updated international convention will help Canada and other countries combat cross-border tax evasion through enhanced information sharing. A secure tax base contributes significantly to a sound economy, which is more important than ever in these challenging economic times.”

The multilateral convention is an international agreement that covers all taxes other than custom duties and offers signatory countries a wide range of tools for cross-border tax co-operation.

 

t provides for three broad categories of administrative assistance: (i) exchange of information, including simultaneous tax examinations and participation in tax examinations abroad; (ii) assistance in recovery, including measures of conservancy; and (iii) service of documents.

The terms of the multilateral convention ensure that the exchange of tax information is no longer subject to limitations under certain countries' domestic laws or is not otherwise impeded by bank secrecy laws and requirements that a country needs to have a domestic interest in the tax information being requested to provide information.

The multilateral convention also imposes safeguards to protect the confidentiality of the information exchanged between signatory countries. In this regard, the multilateral convention provides that any information obtained by a state under the convention is protected in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic law of the member country and, to the extent needed to ensure the necessary level of protection of personal data, in accordance with the safeguards which may be specified by the country supplying the information as required under its domestic law.

The multilateral convention will come into force in Canada after it has been tabled and ratified in parliament.

Carrie Aiken Bereti (carrie.aikenbereti@blakes.com) of Blake, Cassels & Graydon, Calgary.

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Wim Wuyts, who had been head of the specialist tax network since 2017, is moving on to a new role with WTS’s Belgian member firm
MNEs are increasingly using algorithmic tools in TP. Sahasranshu Dash argues that data ethics should therefore plug directly into the TP design process
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales also queried whether HMRC resources could be better spent scrutinising larger entities
Grant Thornton’s Austria tax head likens his practice to an escape room, shares his football coaching ambitions, and explains why tax is cool
Awards
ITR is delighted to reveal all the shortlisted nominees for the 2025 EMEA Tax Awards
Awards
ITR is delighted to reveal all the shortlisted nominees for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Tax Awards
The fates of pillars one and two hang in the balance after the US successfully threw its weight around in G7 and Canadian negotiations
Rafael Tena tells ITR about the ‘crazy’ Mexican market, ditching the hourly rate, and refusing to grow his fledgling firm in an ‘unstructured way’
It should be easy for advisers to be transparent about costs, Brown Rudnick partner Matthew Sharp said in response to exclusive ITR in-house data
The sprawling legislation phases out Joe Biden-era green tax incentives for businesses; in other news, the UK will reportedly maintain its DST despite US pressure
Gift this article