Canadians fight back against Conservative tax snooping law

New lawsuit challenges Conservative FATCA implementation

A Conservative attempt to impose invasive US tax laws on Canadians has hit a snag as a group of citizens have filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court alleging that the legislation is unconstitutional.

“We heard very clearly that this law would harm the privacy of a million Canadians and was likely unconstitutional” said NDP National Revenue Critic Murray Rankin (Victoria). “New Democrats repeatedly moved to block its passage and avoid the legal mess the Conservatives have now put themselves in.”

The lawsuit, filed yesterday in Federal Court by the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty, seeks to overturn the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) implementation legislation and prevent the handing over of personal financial information of up to a million Canadians to the IRS.

“The Conservatives ignored expert warnings and pushed through this bad legislation,” said Rankin, “To add insult to injury, they will no doubt spend taxpayer money defending their invasive tax snooping in the courts.”