Jan 29, 2018
The U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act “has changed the cost benefit analysis of investing in the U.S.,” Paul Seraganian, Managing Partner of Osler’s New York office, tells Law Times. An article by author Jim Middlemiss discusses the widespread implications of U.S. tax reform and how changes to the U.S. tax landscape could hurt Canada’s economy more than a potential NAFTA withdrawal by the U.S. Paul, who specializes in Canada/U.S. cross-border tax planning, says that changes to Canada’s tax system may be necessary going forward.
The U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act “has changed the cost benefit analysis of investing in the U.S,” Paul tells Law Times. “It means there will be a capital shift at the margins away from Canada and into the U.S.
“I think they [the government] will have to consider seriously whether changes to Canada’s own system are needed to try and make it more attractive to bring jobs and capital investment back into Canada.”
Paul also acknowledges the magnitude of U.S. tax reform, calling it “a very, very huge event.”
Canadian companies with U.S. subsidiaries would be prudent to “go back to the drawing board in terms of their game plan,” Paul tells Law Times. He adds that tax reform has “changed the landscape” and “affects a lot of choices” that companies have made in terms of how they finance their U.S. operations.
The article also references and quotes an Osler Update by Paul, Jennifer Lee, Ramin Wright, Julie Geng and Kevin Colan, to further explain the widespread impact of U.S. tax reform on Canadian businesses.
For more information, read “U.S. tax reforms present challenges” by Jim Middlemiss in Law Times.