Roundup: Will American tax changes affect us?

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With the excitement building over that coming US tax cut legislation (if one can call it that), we have already started seeing reaction here in Canada about how we should react, and while there has been some predictable demands that we start cutting our own corporate taxes yet again, others have called for a more pragmatic approach. In the Financial Post, Jack Mintz foretold doom for our economy in the face of these changes. With that in mind, Kevin Milligan tweeted out some thoughts:

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/943147447957667840

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/943148492121284608

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/943150555899105280

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/943151815540932608

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/943152471857291264

It also hasn’t gone unnoticed that these changes will create all manner of new loopholes around personal incorporation to avoid paying income taxes – kind of like Canada has been cracking down on this past year. Imagine that.

https://twitter.com/AaronWherry/status/943192234958221313

https://twitter.com/AaronWherry/status/943193234817404929

To that end, Milligan offered a few more thoughts about the experience around implementing these kinds of changes.

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/943179468205473792

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/943180201596350464

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/943183056554270722

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/943184198034001921

Meanwhile, my Loonie Politics column looks at whether the process used by that American tax bill could happen in Canada. Short answer: no.

Good reads:

  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be going on a town hall tour around the country next month to get out of Ottawa and avoid cutting himself off from Canadians.
  • Trudeau also met with Montreal mayor Valerie Plante, and during an interview, insisted that cannabis will be legalized in the “summer,” but not July 1st.
  • Rumour has it that Trudeau will visit India in February.
  • US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Ottawa, and announced that Canada and the US will co-host a meeting of allies on North Korea in Vancouver in January.
  • Japan, meanwhile, remains reluctant to commit to attending the Vancouver meeting.
  • The plans to reinstate pensions for life for disabled veterans will be unveiled today.
  • Stats are showing that illegal border crossing by asylum seekers continues to decline.
  • Bill Morneau says that the 2018 budget’s themes will include economic success for women, investment in science, and preparing workers for the changing economy.
  • The government has extended the Information Commissioner’s term yet again, but this time for just an additional two months.
  • The government will only buy hybrids for cabinet ministers as of next year.
  • A paid agent for RCMP and star witness in an upcoming local terrorism trial was assessed by CSIS as being “parasitic and psychopathic.” Yikes.
  • Some of Canada’s largest pension funds have used offshore tax havens.
  • The OECD says that we’ll have to increase carbon taxes and reduce emissions from the oilsands if we want to meet our climate goals.
  • Here’s the tale of the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador giving key testimony to ID a murder suspect, all while running in the last provincial election.
  • Former Conservative leadership hopefuls Kellie Leitch, Brad Trost, and Deepak Obhrai are all facing nomination challenges.
  • Paul Wells looks at Canada’s history with the Korean War, and how that might give us a role to play in avoiding a renewed war with the North Korean regime.
  • Susan Delacourt offers some political podcast suggestions.

Odds and ends:

The Children’s Wish Foundation ensured that a 16-year-old Syrian refugee was able to thank the PM in person for saving her life, and getting her needed surgery.

Here is your look at the various party leaders’ Xmas cards.

One thought on “Roundup: Will American tax changes affect us?”

  1. The two houses of the US government today voted for the tax reform package that will cost the American people an estimated 1.6 Trillion dollars which will see their Federal deficit rise over the next decade to approximately 24Trillion dollars. The Americans tout their society as the bastion of capitalism which leads to freedom. Nothing could be further from the truth. The American record of capitalistic failure is evidenced by the slavery of the taxpayer to a debt that can never be paid and the continuation of a system that will lead the American people even farther along the path to economic ruin.
    Consider the irony of taxpayers getting a dubious tax break while having the specter of having to pay 1.6 Trillion to get it. As for Corporate America led by the fortune 500 group using their newfound largess to build new plants and employ thousands of new workers don’t hold your breath. These new found funds will find their way into shareholder pockets.
    If Congress believes that Corporate America really is committed to building a “Great America” then why has it not forced them to repatriate the Trillions of dead money in offshore accounts?
    Why would they when they have sycophants in the President and the two houses that will soak and hoodwink the American taxpayer into supporting Corporate America with their hard earned tax dollars. The whole thing stinks but the American way has always been so. As Donald the Dunce tweets, Sad.

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