Civil servants’ pension board used tax avoidance scheme

Canada’s stepped up its efforts in recent years to crack down on tax avoidance, but at least one government body appears to have missed the memo.

Read: Tax avoidance can damage your reputation: STEP chief

“The federal agency that invests civil servants’ pensions set up a complex scheme of European shell companies and exploited loopholes that helped it avoid paying foreign taxes— a move that could undermine Canada’s standing internationally as its allies try to mount a crackdown on corporate tax avoidance,” a CBC report states.

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s tax strategy was devised by PwC’s Luxembourg offices.

“While the Canadian government corporation’s transactions were not illegal, a senior German tax official who reviewed them said the pension investment board had used ‘a very aggressive way to avoid taxes,’” adds the report.

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The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.