A Saskatchewan mining corp is trying towiggle out of paying $2.1 billion in owed taxes.
Think of the health care, public transit and education that money could fund. Tell Justin Trudeau to close tax haven loopholes and make Cameco pay its fair share like the rest of us.
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Joseph,
If you’re like me and most Canadians, you’ve just done your taxes. But if you’re Saskatchewan-based mining corporation Cameco, you haveavoided paying $2.1 billion in taxes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just announced a nearly $30-billion deficit in order to pay for badly needed social programs and infrastructure -- and yet here we have a corporation refusing to pay $2.1 billion in back taxes. That’s why I’ve started this petition and am asking the SumOfUs community to call on Prime Minister Trudeau to demand Cameco pay its fair share.
I'm from Saskatchewan and have lived here all my life. And the world's largest publicly-traded uranium company is headquartered here too. But you wouldn't know it the way Cameco reports its billions in profits.
Both the Canadian Revenue Agency and the American IRS have gone after Cameco for transferring billions in profits to offshore tax shelters in order to dodge tax on profits made in Canada. But Cameco is refusing to pay.
There's far more at stake than just the back taxes: if Cameco gets away with this, countless other corporations will try the same thing. We were all disgusted when the CRA offered amnesty to KPMG's super-rich clients after they benefitted from a tax avoidance sham. The last thing we want is another closed-door deal that lets those with power and influence off the hook.
Cameco made its profit using Canadian roads and infrastructure, Canadian labour and a stable Canadian business climate in my home province. In fact, Cameco's wealth comes from Northern Saskatchewan, one of the most marginalized areas in Canada that desperately needs better services and community investment.
$2.1 billion is a lot of money. To put it in perspective, providing clean drinking water to every Canadian community -- including the remote First Nations communities right next door to Cameco’s mines -- would cost $470 million. $2.1 billion is enough to start a national pharmacare plan and could give every university student in Canada a break on their tuition.
But Cameco doesn't want to pay its fair share of taxes to the country or people that helped it flourish. Thankfully, these damning business practices are now the subject of global attention. With outrage mounting worldwide on the abuse of tax havens, we have a real opportunity to hold Cameco accountable.
Thanks for all that you do,
Don Kossick
SumOfUs Community member since 2014
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