Interesting documentary about tax avoidance to watch soon.
Railton
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From:
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2015 9:12 AM
To: * Toronto - Tax Lawyers
Subject: The Great Canadian Tax Dodge and Al's Interview
The Air Dates for anyone who wants to watch:
Airs on TVO February 4, 2015, 9 PM
Air Dates:
Wed Feb 4 at 9:00pm (repeating that same day at midnight)
Sun Feb 8 at 11:00pm
Mon Feb 9 at 10:00pm
The film will also be available to all Canadians on TVO.org and via TVO’s Doc Studio iPad app, starting February 5, 2015.
Twitter: @gr8taxdoc
MEDIA CONTACT: Cynthia Amsden
RoundstonePR@gmail.com 416 910 7740
Toronto. January 7, 2015. Benjamin Franklin said there were only two things certain in life: death and taxes. Of course, Franklin could say that because he didn’t live in 21st century Canada where lots of big players are not paying their taxes. On TVO at 9pm on February 4, 2015, Cogent/Benger’s latest film, The Great Canadian Tax Dodge, will go to air. Written and directed by Robin Benger (Madiba: The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela; Sex Scandals in Religion), The Great Canadian Tax Dodge is produced by Benger and Christopher Sumpton (The Autism Enigma; Pedal Power).
The Great Canadian Tax Dodge is the product of a three-year investigation by writer/director/producer Robin Benger into the extent of tax avoidance by Canadian entities in Canada and abroad, mostly via offshore tax havens in the Caribbean. “I was astonished at the systematic pervasiveness of tax avoidance by many Canadian companies on a multi-billion-dollar scale, with the apparent neglect of several generations of Canadian finance ministers,” says Robin Benger.
The documentary follows the story of a fair-tax campaigner in Ottawa as he struggles to create a national movement; it looks at the views of “the Wayne Gretzky of tax lawyers”, who asserts that legal tax avoidance is a good thing; it examines the charge that the highest courts are settling precedent-setting cases in favour of companies that deprive Canadians of millions of dollars of taxable revenue; and it reports on the seminal Canadian influence in the setting up and running of global tax havens, and how tiny offshore islands like the Caymans have become the agents of investment in major sectors of the Canadian economy.
“This revealing and brilliant film explains the strategies used by tax avoiders and demonstrates the damage they cause.”--Neil Brooks, Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar, Osgoode Hall Law School
"Watch this and realise what you've been missing - which is the tax the dodgers don't pay that you have to instead."--Richard Murphy, Founder, Global Tax Justice Network.
The Great Canadian Tax Dodge is narrated by Nicky Guadagni, with cinematography by Colin Allison, original music composed by Kurt Swinghammer and computer animation by Mark Alberts. Produced by Cogent/Benger Productions in association with TVO, with Jane Jankovic, Executive Producer for Documentaries, and with the assistance of the Canada Media Fund and The Canadian Film Or Video Production Tax Credit.
ABOUT ROBIN BENGER AND COGENT/BENGER PRODUCTIONS:
Robin Benger is a producer/director/writer/narrator of television documentaries. Born in England, raised in South Africa, he's been working in Canadian journalism and documentary filmmaking since 1976. Over a 30-year career he has made more than 100 documentaries on practically every conceivable subject across more than 65 countries, both as an in house documentary producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and as an independent documentary filmmaker. Since 1997 he has run Cogent/Benger Productions with Christopher Sumpton. First they produced In Security for the CBC, which then led to Eastside Showdown for the NFB. Since then they’ve produced The Autism Enigma, Sex Scandals in Religion, Five Roads to Freedom, Pedal Power, Porndemic, Pharma Sutra, China’s Leap of Faith, How To Stop a Hurricane, which received the innovation prize at the Pariscience Film Festival, Money & The Maker, The In-Between World of MG Vassanji, Destiny: The Life & Times of Paul Anka; Somebody Stop Me; The Life and Times of Jim Carrey and Wolverine: Devil Of The North. C/BP's programs have been seen on Canadian networks, such as CBC, CTV and Discovery, as well as internationally on ARTE, ABC (Australia) and other broadcasters. Benger also made “Madiba; the Life and Times of Nelson Mandela” and “A Dream of Millions” for CBC, both of which won Geminis.
