Archived - Government Moving Forward to Address Tax Evasion Through the Automatic Exchange of Tax Information

February 5, 2016 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Finance

Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Minister of National Revenue Diane Lebouthillier today announced that the Government of Canada has signed a Joint Declaration with Switzerland expressing the intent of the two countries to engage in the automatic exchange of financial account information in accordance with the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The Declaration was signed in Ottawa by Minister Lebouthillier and His Excellency Dr. Beat Nobs, Ambassador of Switzerland to Canada and the Bahamas.

The information received will improve Canada’s ability to detect and address cases of tax evasion, ensure tax compliance and protect the integrity of Canada’s tax system.

The Government of Canada is pleased that the Joint Declaration helps set the stage for Canada and Switzerland to mutually benefit from forging an exchange partnership under the CRS Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement to which both countries are parties. This agreement sets the framework of operational procedures to be used by tax administrations under the new standard.

Canada intends to implement the CRS starting on July 1, 2017, allowing a first exchange of information in 2018. As of the implementation date, Canadian financial institutions will be expected to have procedures in place to identify accounts held by non-residents and to report the required information to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). As the CRA formalizes exchange arrangements with foreign jurisdictions, having verified that each jurisdiction has appropriate capacity and safeguards in place, the information will begin to be exchanged on a reciprocal, bilateral basis.

Draft legislative proposals for implementing the CRS in Canada will be released for public comment in the near future.

• In September 2013, G-20 Leaders committed to the automatic exchange of information as the new global standard. In November 2014, Canada and the other G-20 countries endorsed the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for multilateral automatic information exchange as developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
• In November 2015, G-20 Leaders reaffirmed previous commitments to the automatic exchange of information by 2017 or 2018. To date, over 90 jurisdictions, including Canada, have committed to implement the new standard.
• The CRS will require financial institutions to implement due diligence procedures to identify accounts held by non-residents and report certain information relating to these accounts to domestic tax authorities. Tax authorities will then exchange with each other information relating to financial accounts in their jurisdictions held by residents of the other jurisdiction. The CRS will not require reporting on accounts held by residents with foreign citizenship.
• The standard includes important safeguards to protect taxpayer confidentiality and ensure that the exchanged information is used only by tax authorities and solely for tax purposes.

• Joint Declaration of the Government of Canada and the Swiss Federal Council

Annie Donolo
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Finance
613-369-5697

Jack Aubry
Media Relations
Department of Finance
613-369-4000