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· JTI-Macdonald
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$1.36B tax bill spurs JTI-Macdonald's counter-claim against province
Jump to full article: Canada.com (ca), 2004-11-09
Author: Sean Silcoff, with files from Drew Hasselback
Intro: Claiming it is the victim of "abusive conduct," tobacco maker JTI-Macdonald Corp. has sued the government of Quebec for driving it into bankruptcy protection with a $1.36-billion tax bill three months ago.
"The [Revenue] Minister acted arbitrarily and for improper considerations for the politically expedient purpose of crushing JTI-Macdonald financially and make it virtually impossible for [the firm] to defend the [tax bill]," JTI said in a motion filed with Quebec Superior Court.
Quebec obtained a court judgment on Aug. 10 in favour of its tax assessment. It had alleged the firm -- the Canadian subsidiary of Japan Tobacco Inc. and Canada's oldest tobacco maker -- owed the province for cigarettes exported duty-free to the United States and then smuggled back to Canada through the Cornwall, Ont., area in the 1990s. Two weeks later the firm filed for creditor protection in Ontario after Quebec began seizing cash from its customers.
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