Latest news with #USTechCompanies
National Post
3 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Canada cancelled its digital services tax. What was it and why did the U.S. hate it?
Article content The Liberals had long maintained Canada would go ahead on its own if the OECD deal fell through. In a 2024 release, the government said while 'Canada's priority and preference has always been a multilateral agreement,' many of Canada's allies have digital services taxes in place. Article content 'Canada has been at a disadvantage relative to these countries which have continued collecting revenue under their pre-existing digital services taxes,' it said. Article content Why do some oppose it? Article content Critics of the tax took issue with Canada's refusal to wait for a global deal. They also opposed the retroactive application of the tax, which means companies will have to pay several years' worth of taxes at once. Article content U.S. businesses and politicians argued the tax targets U.S. companies. The tax applied to all large tech companies no matter where they were based, but because so many of those companies are American, U.S. firms would have paid the bulk of the money. Article content In a letter earlier this month, 21 members of Congress said U.S. companies will pay 90 per cent of the revenue Canada will collect from the tax, and that first payment will cost U.S. companies US$2 billion. Article content Article content That opposition isn't new. The Biden administration also pushed back against the tax, and the stance isn't isolated to Canada, with the U.S. also opposing digital service taxes imposed by other countries. Article content Before the tax was rescinded on Sunday, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada said its 'members have been warning for years that this tax would become a flashpoint in the Canada-U.S. relationship. That moment has arrived.' Article content The tax is 'retroactive, one-sided, and deeply damaging to cross-border trade,' Rick Tachuk said in an emailed statement, which encouraged Canada to cancel its tax. Article content Michael Geist, Canada research chair in internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, wrote in a blog post Saturday the current conflict shouldn't come as a surprise. Article content 'Canada pushed ahead despite efforts at an international agreement on the issue and later dismissed the increasing friction over the issue with the U.S., which has been signalling its opposition to the DST for many years,' he said. Article content Geist said once Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne confirmed on June 19 Canada would be going ahead with the tax, the government 'virtually guaranteed the U.S. would respond as it did.' Article content Where does Trump come in? Article content While opposition to the tax has been brewing south of the border for years, Trump escalated it abruptly Friday afternoon with an online post. Article content He wrote he was 'terminating all discussions on trade with Canada' because of the tax and called it a 'direct and blatant attack on our country.' He also complained about Canada's dairy-sector protections that include high tariffs on imports of American milk and cheese. Article content Article content Donald J. Trump Truth Social 06.27.25 01:44 PM EST — Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) June 27, 2025 Article content Canada and the U.S. have been in a trade war for months, triggered by Trump's imposition of tariffs. At the G7 summit in Alberta earlier this month, Carney and Trump agreed to work on reaching a deal by mid-July — work that Trump said was halted Friday. Article content Friday afternoon, shortly after Trump's post went live, Carney told reporters he hadn't spoken to Trump that day but that 'we'll continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interests of Canadians.' Article content The decision opened the door for trade talks to restart, and Carney said in a statement, the overall results of those talks were paramount. Article content 'In our negotiations on a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States, Canada's new government will always be guided by the overall contribution of any possible agreement to the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses,' he said. Article content Article content 'Today's announcement will support a resumption of negotiations toward the July 21, 2025, timeline set out at this month's G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis.' Article content
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Morning Rush: Digital Services Tax gets scraped
Ottawa Watch Bill Carroll from The Morning Rush shares his thoughts on Canada scrapping its Digital Services Tax targeting U.S. technology firms.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump on Terminating Trade Talks With Canada: 'We Have All The Cards'
President Trump said he is stopping trade negotiations with Canada because of its digital-services tax on U.S. tech companies. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
National Post
20-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
Canada won't pause digital services tax despite pressure from U.S., finance minister says
OTTAWA — Canada won't put a hold on the digital services tax on big tech companies set to take effect on June 30, the finance minister said Thursday. Article content Article content Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Thursday the legislation was passed by Parliament and Canada is 'going ahead' with the tax. Article content Article content 'The (digital services tax) is in force and it's going to be applied,' he told reporters before a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill. Article content Article content It will apply retroactively, leaving U.S. companies with a $2 billion US bill due at the end of the month. A June 11 letter signed by 21 members of Congress said U.S. companies will pay 90 per cent of the revenue Canada will collect from the tax. Article content Canadian and U.S. business groups, organizations representing U.S. tech giants and American members of Congress have all signed letters in recent weeks calling for the tax to be eliminated or paused. Article content It's set to take effect just weeks before a deadline Canada and the U.S. have set for coming up with a new trade deal, following months of trade conflict between the two countries. Article content Rick Tachuk, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada, said the plan to go ahead with the tax 'undercuts those talks and risks derailing the agreement.' Article content Article content 'A retroactive tax like the DST, weeks before a new deal is supposed to be done, isn't a bargaining chip. It would likely be viewed as a provocation,' he said in an emailed statement. Article content Article content The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and other organizations have warned retaliatory measures in a U.S. spending and tax bill could hit Canadians' pension funds and investments. Article content Champagne said Canada isn't the only country that could be affected by those retaliatory measures. Article content David Pierce, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce's vice-president of government relations, said in an earlier interview his organization fears Canada could 'aggravate an already very tricky trade discussion with the Americans' if it goes ahead with the tax and the retroactive payment requirement. Article content Matthew Holmes, the chamber's executive vice-president and chief of public policy, said in a statement that a Liberal government announcement on counter-tariffs to protect the steel and aluminum industries Thursday was 'geared toward the 30-day deadline, so we see no reason why DST's timeline shouldn't be as well.'
Khaleej Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
US to issue visa bans for foreign nationals who 'censor' Americans: Rubio
The United States will impose visa bans on foreign nationals it deems to be censoring Americans, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday, unveiling a new policy Rubio suggested could target officials regulating U.S. tech companies. Rubio said in a statement that a new visa restriction policy would apply to foreign nationals responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States and said it was unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants for social media posts made on US soil. "It is similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States," Rubio said. Rubio's statement did not name specific countries or individuals that would be targeted, but noted that some foreign officials have taken "flagrant censorship actions against U.S. tech companies and U.S. citizens and residents when they have no authority to do so."
