Tax evasion
Canada has a very high rate of tax evasion. Individuals and companies with high net worths use offshore tax havens to illegally avoid paying tax. Canadians have $170 billion sitting in the world's top ten tax-haven countries. Canadian federal and provincial governments lose an estimated $8 billion a year to tax havens alone. Black market or under-the-table commercial activity also contributes to tax avoidance losses. The full cost of tax evasion is an estimated $80 billion per year. Tax evasion and corruption are facilitated by lawyers, administrative corruption and inefficiency in the Canada Revenue Agency, Canadian and foreign banks.