A recent survey asked: Is it morally wrong for corporations to use tax havens? I
ID: 2549197 • Letter: A
Question
A recent survey asked: Is it morally wrong for corporations to use tax havens? Its results: Most said yes. See http://environicsresearch.com/insights/nine-ten-canadians-think-morally-wrong-canadian-corporations-use-tax-havens-new-poll/.
Delving deeper into the issue of tax avoidance, you will go beyond the news release. You will examine the polling data, not just the news release. You will round up the news coverage of the survey results. You will gain a sense of the public debates of tax avoidance in Canada. You will learn from relevant studies on tax justice in civil society by think tanks, governments and academics around the world.
Making good use of your research, you will write a 100-word note starting with the following:
It’s morally wrong for Canadian corporations to use tax havens because ….
That is, you will start by completing the sentence and then you will make your most compelling argument in your submission. You only have 100 words so make one compelling argument and make it well. You are required to demonstrate that you have done extensive research and made good use of your research to argue why it’s morally wrong for Canadian corporations to use tax havens.
Important: You cannot make up your own research question, e.g. you cannot argue it’s not morally wrong for Canadian corporations to use tax havens or you have reservations or … as that’s NOT the research question for this particular part of the research project. Think of this as an exam, in which you cannot make up your own exam questions for any reason.
Explanation / Answer
It’s morally wrong for Canadian corporations to use tax havens because having an entity in tax havens encourages corporate to shift focus from tax avoidance (which is the initial focus area) to tax evasion later on. It is to be noted that tax avoidance is legal while tax evasion is illegal. Use of tax havens, despite being legal, often encourages companies to adopt, implement illegal methods to evade their taxes. The change in focus from tax avoidance to tax evasion dilutes the importance of triple bottom line (profit, people and planet) and places undue attention and importance only on profits.