IQ invests an additional $25 million in a company operating in a tax haven

Investissement Québec (IQ) has invested $25 million in a new fund from White Star Capital, which does business in Guernsey, a Channel Islands tax haven.

Last Monday, White Star launched a $450 million fund, to which IQ contributed $25 million, and the FTQ Solidarity Fund, $15 million. Caisse de dépôt refused to disclose his participation.

However, even if the White Star is active in Guernsey, IQ ensures that the money he invests in his money does not leave Quebec.

“All amounts invested by Investissement Québec to date have been handled through Canadian Limited Partnerships, duly registered and incorporated in Canada (Quebec). An IQ spokeswoman, Isabelle Fontaine, clarified that Investissement Québec has never dealt with the Guernsey-based White Star Capital II LP fund.

To date, IQ has pumped more than $45 million into White Star funds here – $24.75 million (2021), $10 million (2018) and $10.6 million (2014). Among the companies that White Star supports are Dialogue, Dfuse, and Angel Host.

March 2021, Newspaper It was revealed that the Minister of Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, presented in Paris, to Prime Minister François Legault, in 2019, the co-founder of White Star, Eric Martineau-Fortin, while he still had an investment in one of its funds.

Two months later, Mr. Fitzgibbon, in violation of the National Assembly’s code of ethics, withdrew from the Cabinet, returning to the position in September after complying with the Commissioner’s requirements.

Misunderstood, not delinquent

in a magazineWhite Star co-founder Jean-Francois Marco admitted Monday that he has activities in Guernsey, where another control director, Eric Martineau-Fortin, lives, but declined to be called a “tax haven”.

“What is part of the structure in Quebec remains in Quebec and does not pass through Guernsey,” he explained, attracting European money.

“This is sometimes misunderstood here by the general public, but there are no tax advantages for anyone,” he added, making experts he consulted Newspaper.

Frank Yovanovitch, Professor in the School of Management Sciences at TÉLUQ, noted that “a tax haven is a country that offers favorable tax and regulatory legislation, and that is what Guernsey does.”

Julien Frédéric Martin, Professor of Economics at UQAM concluded, “Companies with subsidiaries in Guernsey are benefiting from the island’s ambiguity.”

In collaboration with Jean-Francois Cloutier

• PwC notes that companies can pay a 0%, 10% or 20% tax in Guernsey, and KPMG describes it as a “tax haven jurisdiction like the Cayman Islands.”