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Cameco wins court case against Canada Revenue Agency

Sep 27, 2018 | 2:34 PM

Cameco announced this week that it has scored a win in a long-running court case with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

“That was a big ticket, you know, that was potentially in the billions of dollars and so to have that removed is really important for us and great for the future of Cameco,” CEO Tim Gitzel said Thursday in a press conference at the company’s Saskatoon headquarters.

The case centred on the company’s 2003, 2005 and 2006 tax filings.

The CRA held that Cameco’s use of a European subsidiary to book its sales at a lower tax rate was illegal. Cameco maintained it had followed all applicable laws.

In a roughly 300-page judgment, which Cameco posted to its website, Tax Court of Canada Justice John R.Owen sided with the company.

Gitzel said that for him, the ruling was about more than just business.

“This attacked the integrity of our company and the people in our company. I took it personally.”

He went on to say the ruling amounted to vindication after years of having a cloud hovering over the business.

“We built this company on integrity. Every day, we comply with the laws of every country we operate in,” he said.

The CRA still has 30 days to appeal the decision. It also remains to be seen if the judgment will apply to other tax years that remain disputed between Cameco and the CRA.