# Snow washing > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Snow_washing > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Snow_washing.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_washing > Source revision: 1319827386 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Hiding illegitimate financial transactions in Canada}} {{Distinguish|Stone washing}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} thumb|Canada is known for its cold winters and snow. '''Snow washing''' refers to hiding illegitimate financial transactions often for purposes of [tax evasion](/source/tax_evasion) in [Canada](/source/Canada). The term is an amalgam of the words '''''snow''''' referring to Canada having cold snowy winters and '''''washing''''' referring to [money laundering](/source/money_laundering). It is easy under Canadian law to set up a company, even for a fee as low as C$200, while shielding the identities of the firm's real owners from the eyes of tax authorities. People, including criminals and foreigners avoiding economic sanctions, can set up [shell companies](/source/shell_company) to "make suspect transactions seem legitimate" under the cover of Canada's reputation for fiscal integrity.{{Cite web |last1=Cribb |first1=Robert |last2=Oved |first2=Marco Chown |date=January 25, 2017 |title=SNOW WASHING: Canada is the world's newest tax haven |url=https://projects.thestar.com/panama-papers/canada-is-the-worlds-newest-tax-haven/ |work=Toronto Star |quote=...And the Canadian government has made it easier than ever for criminals and tax cheats to move money in and out by signing tax agreements with 115 countries — the greatest number in the world.... |accessdate=February 14, 2018}} [[File:Downtown Vancouver.jpg|thumb|right|There are reports that many of the new houses bought in [Vancouver](/source/Vancouver) are bought by anonymous foreigners as a way to evade taxes or do an end-around economic sanctions or launder money.]] The registration systems for Canadian companies, at both the federal level and the provincial level, are shrouded in secrecy, which means that the real owner of a company or a trust can hire a person as a stand-in substitute to conduct all financial filings and submissions. The practice effectively makes Canada a [tax haven](/source/tax_haven) along with countries such as the [British Virgin Islands](/source/British_Virgin_Islands), [Panama](/source/Panama) and the [Bahamas](/source/Bahamas). The process has been made even easier since the [Canadian government](/source/Government_of_Canada) has signed tax treaties with 115 countries. With a form of business organization called a ''Canadian Limited Partnership'', the only persons who have to declare themselves to the authorities are the partners, and if they do not live in Canada, they are exempt from filing taxes in Canada.{{Cite web |last=Kassam |first=Ashifa |date=February 14, 2018 |title=How Canada became an offshore destination for 'snow washing': The country's opaque jurisdictions allow owners of private companies to remain anonymous and the firms to remain in the shadows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/14/canada-corruption-snow-washing-investigation-private-companies |work=The Guardian |quote=...While publicly traded firms in Canada are required to disclose major shareholders, private companies need only note their directors, allowing those who own, control or benefit from the firm to remain in the shadows.... |accessdate=February 14, 2018}} For firms whose stocks are not traded publicly, the rules require that only the directors of such companies be identified, and these directors are not required to reveal whether they are acting on behalf of somebody else. There was a report in ''[The Economist](/source/The_Economist)'' suggesting that the overheated market for private property in the Canadian city of [Vancouver](/source/Vancouver%2C_Canada) may be partially the result of purchases by unidentified persons, possibly foreign criminals and corrupt officials, as a way to launder [dirty money](/source/dirty_money).{{Cite news |date=January 4, 2018 |title=Snow washing: Canada frets about anonymously owned firms -- Identity checks to obtain a library card are more onerous than those to form a private firm |url=https://www.economist.com/news/business/21734034-identity-checks-obtain-library-card-are-more-onerous-those-form-private |newspaper=The Economist |quote=... 2009 the national police force estimated that up to C$15bn ($12bn) was being laundered in the country each year (an estimated annual $2trn is laundered globally). ... |accessdate=February 14, 2018}} One estimate in 2009 by the national police was that 15 billion dollars was being laundered annually in Canada because of the opaque disclosure requirements. ==References == {{Reflist}} Category:Tax evasion Category:Money laundering Category:Economic history of Canada Category:Real estate bubbles of the 2010s Category:Economy of Canada Category:Immigration to Canada Category:Real estate Category:Housing in Canada Category:Inflation in Canada Category:Infrastructure in Canada Category:Real estate in Canada --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Snow washing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_washing) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_washing?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.