WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American Chamber of Commerce in Canada, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce jointly issued the following statement as the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance prepares to consider the Digital Services Tax Act:
“Regrettably, the Government of Canada appears to be moving forward with its plan to unilaterally impose a retroactive and discriminatory digital services tax (DST) in contravention of prevailing international tax principles. Doing so would not only discriminate against U.S. companies but also directly contravene Canada’s obligations under both the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
As a member of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework’s steering group and longtime proponent of multilateralism, Canada has repeatedly stated its hope that Pillar One would make Canada’s DST proposal unnecessary. But by continuing to advance this discriminatory legislation, Canada risks undermining the very multilateral solution that it continues to claim to support.
The Government of Canada has undoubtedly followed how the U.S. Trade Representative investigated several substantially similar measures—including France’s DST—and found them unreasonable or discriminatory and burdensome or restrictive to U.S. commerce, and thus actionable under section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974. In both Canada and the United States, the livelihoods of our workers and the prosperity of our citizens depend on the North American trade and investment partnership. At such a sensitive time in the trade relationship, we hope Members of Parliament remain committed to multilateralism and the importance of a common approach to the North American marketplace.”
