Ontario Urging Ottawa to Put Digital Services Tax on Hold

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on the federal government to pause its digital services tax, saying the levy jeopardizes the Canada-United States relationship and could have a detrimental effect on trade.
Ford also spoke out against the tax in a speech last month, saying that the bipartisan consensus in Washington is that Americans are “furious” with Canada over the tax.
“I talked to Democrats, I talked to Republicans, and they are furious,” Ford said. “They’re furious with Canada over even considering what they view as an unfair tax on American companies. We cannot put millions of Canadian jobs in our historic economic partnership with the U.S. at risk because of a stubborn refusal to listen to the concerns of our American friends.”
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has since requested dispute settlement consultations with Ottawa under the trade agreement.
Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng and Freeland have remained steadfast about the tax, saying consultations will show “Canada is meeting its trade obligations.”
The digital tax was part of the Liberal’s platform during the 2019 election campaign.
The finance minister noted several G7 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, already have a DST in place and have not been “subject to U.S. trade retaliation.”
Freeland said Canada could benefit from the revenue the tax would bring in.
“As finance minister and deputy prime minister, I just can’t accept Canada indefinitely being in an inferior position to other countries who are partners and allies,” she said.
“I think we are all agreed as Canadians we have such a crying need for investment in so many things in our country.”