Author: Elizabeth Thompson

A small, obscure section buried in U.S. President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act could cost Canadians and Canadian companies billions of dollars, CBC News has learned.Moreover, it could hand Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government yet another political hot potato from south of the border — forcing it to choose between scrapping Canada’s digital services tax (DST) or risk the U.S. imposing a new withholding tax on the income Canadians, Canadian companies and pension plans receive from investments in U.S. securities.While it still has steps to go before becoming law, the provision has Canadian experts worried.”This is building a nuclear option into a tax treaty that has lasted for 80 years between Canada and the U.S,” said David Macdonald, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “Just like the U.S. is totally willing to blow up the international trade order, they’re totally willing to blow up international tax rules.”Prime Minister Mark Carney could have another problem to navigate if the U.S. Senate approves Section 899 of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.