Global tax changes needed

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In the last two decades, tax laws have not kept up with globalization and online trading. The loopholes were exploited
by corporations and individuals to

In the last two decades, tax laws have not kept up with globalization and online trading. The loopholes were exploited
by corporations and individuals to
avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Consequently, as OXFAM revealed last week at the World Economic Forum, the concentration of wealth is accelerating and has reached a point where the world’s 62 richest people own as much as the poorest half of humanity.
Though legal, such tax avoidance is immoral considering that close to a
billion people are living in extreme poverty and that a large segment of rich societies like ours are submitted to
austerity measures because governments are not bringing in enough taxes. The wealthy in the poorest countries use
fiscal loopholes and tax havens too.
It’s unfair to children to not receive education and health services from their government that would give them a chance in life. Tax avoidance is a global disaster. Therefore, I urge PM Trudeau to include an increase in foreign aid in the next federal budget, to improve the health and education of the poorest and improve tax collection in poor countries.
Some steps are being taken to close the loopholes in fiscal policies on a
global scale thanks to the OECD/G-20 BEPS Project, which I hope PM Trudeau will support. Why? Because funds will be needed for the most ambitious project of our times as expressed in the United Nations Global Goals. The first of these goals is to eradicate poverty everywhere by 2030. I’d like to see that.

Pamela Walden-Landry
MONTREAL