According to the head of the Caisse de depot et Placement du Québec (CDPQ), a free trade zone in which companies are offered to pay 0% tax has nothing to do with a tax haven.
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“A free trade zone is not the same as a tax haven,” Charles Emond, big boss of the Caisse de depot, replied when Le Journal asked him if his $2.5 billion investment last June in the Jebel Ali free trade zone was in im Consistent with the commitments of the Caisse.
“It’s a different element than a tax haven in the Cayman Islands,” he added.
Although the Caisse is committed to fighting “all forms of tax evasion”, last year it took a 22 per cent stake in the port of Jebel Ali, which Emond says has a “government policy to attract investment”.
Court of Convenience
Alain Deneault, expert and author
On its website, the Port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates highlights its 0% tax rate for corporations and 0% for personal income.
However, for Alain Deneault, author of Tax Havens: The Canadian Sector, the fact that billions of dollars are being invested in these types of projects is clear.
“We play with words. It is a low-cost country that allows tax dumping,” emphasizes the expert.
“When the Québec government’s Treasury supports this type of policy, it hurts a state like Quebec itself,” he concludes.
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