Canadian Minister for Natural Resources Christian Paradis said Tuesday that Canada opposes punitive taxation of the financial sector at the international level.

“Canada’s performance during the financial crisis clearly demonstrates that such a tax is not necessary, and will only reduce the flow of credit and encourage excessive risk taking,” Paradis told at a press conference.

As Germany and the United States have voiced willingness to levy a bank tax, Canada apparently is in the minority of developed nations.

Paradis said in addition to fiscal consolidation and financial sector reform, the world expects the G-20 leaders to make headway on promoting trade and investment and fighting protectionism.

He stressed Canada will keep its economy open to investment from around the world while resisting protectionism and working to eliminate trade barriers.

“As a trade oriented country, Canada fully understands what open markets mean for long-term prosperity, and we have done our part to make that happen,” he added.

Canada has unilaterally eliminated tariffs on manufacturing machinery imports and is on track to be the first G-20 nation to a tariff-free zone for manufacturers, he noted.

With respect to its economic stimulus policy, Paradis said it will be eventually phased out.

“In the meantime, we are creating a climate that will attract investment and boost our economy,” he said.—Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr. www.livetradingnews.com

Posted by Shayne Heffernan on Jun 22nd, 2010and filed underEquities, Latest News, Markets, USA.You can follow any responses to this entry through theRSS 2.0You can leave a response by filling following comment form or trackback to this entry from your site