Supreme Court won’t examine sharing of Canadian bank account info with U.S.

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear a challenge of legislation that allows account information held by Canadian financial institutions to be shared with U.S. authorities.

The case began when two U.S.-born women who now live in Canada contested the Canadian provisions implementing a 2014 agreement between the two countries that made the information-sharing possible.

The two unsuccessfully argued in lower courts that the provisions breach the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee preventing unreasonable seizure.

The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act requires banks and other institutions in countries outside the United States to report information about accounts held by U.S. individuals, including Canadians with dual citizenship.

The Canadian government told the Federal Court of Appeal that failure to comply with the U.S. measures would have had serious effects on Canada’s financial sector, its customers and the broader economy.

The information from Canada being shared with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service includes the names and addresses of account holders, account numbers, account balances and details such as interest, dividends and other income.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2023.

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