TEI-Canadian Department of Finance liaison meeting: excise tax issues.

• Position: Tax Executives Institute

December 2, 1998

On December 2, 1998, TEI held its annual liaison meeting with representatives of the Canadian Department of Finance on pending excise tax issues. The Institute's agenda for the meeting is reprinted below. The agenda was prepared under the aegis of TEI's Canadian Commodity Tax Committee, whose chair is Munir A. Suleman of The Bank of Nova Scotia. Pierre M. Bocti of Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd., the Institute's Vice President-Region I, coordinated the liaison meeting.

Tax Executives Institute, Inc. welcomes the opportunity to present the following comments and questions on several pending commodity and excise tax issues, which will be discussed with representatives of the Department of Finance during TEI's December 2, 1998, liaison meeting. If you have any questions about these comments, please do not hesitate to call either Pierre M. Bocti, TEI's Vice President for Canadian Affairs, at (905) 206-3399 or Munir A. Suleman, chair of the Institute's Canadian Commodity Tax Committee, at (416) 866-4698.

1. Background

   Tax Executives Institute is an international organization of more than 5,000 professionals who are responsible -- in an executive, administrative, or managerial capacity -- for the tax affairs of the corporations and other businesses by which they are employed. TEI's members represent more than 2,800 of the leading corporations in Canada and the United States.

   Canadians make up approximately 10 percent of TEI's membership, with our Canadian members belonging to chapters in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, which together make up one of our eight geographic regions. In addition, a substantial number of our U.S. members work for companies with significant Canadian operations. In sum, TEI's membership includes representatives from most major industries, including manufacturing, distributing, wholesaling, and retailing; real estate; transportation; financial services; telecommunications; and natural resources (including timber and integrated oil companies). The comments set forth in this submission reflect the views of the Institute as a whole, but more particularly those of our Canadian constituency.

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