Watson McLeish, Senior Vice President, Tax Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued the following statement today regarding Canada’s opposition to the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework’s recent agreement on digital services taxes:
“The Chamber is disappointed by Canada’s decision to oppose the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting’s recent agreement to extend the moratorium on imposing digital services taxes (DSTs) on any company for another year. We urge the Government of Canada to make clear that they will not unilaterally act to impose a DST.
“Imposing a DST would not only be discriminatory but also contravene Canada’s obligations under both the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It’s for this reason that the prospect of unilateral Canadian DST action has elicited staunch bipartisan opposition in the U.S. Congress and warnings of retaliatory measures from the Biden administration.
“The Chamber urges Canada to return to the OECD process and support extension of the DST moratorium to which nearly 140 countries have agreed.”
About the authors
Watson M. McLeish
Watson McLeish is senior vice president for Tax Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he serves as the primary adviser on all tax policy-related matters.
