Tag Archives: Digital Tax

Mark Warner was interviewed on BNNBloomberg talking about the risks of the United States retaliating against Canada for implementing a new Digital Services Tax on large US companies and requiring foreign streaming platforms to pay into a fund to support Canadian music, TV, film & radio under the new Online Streaming Act. (July 5, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, Mark advised on harmful tax competition issues and worked on other trade and competition issues, participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

As Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mr. Warner led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund focused, in part, on the digital media and information and communications technology sectors. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to leading ICT and digital media companies and led Ontario’s legal team in respect of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations including with respect to the Intellectual Property Chapter.

Mark’s experience with online technologies and e-commerce includes: participating in OECD-wide policy work on laws and regulations affecting e-commerce, acting as Chair, ICC Competition Commission Working Party on E-Commerce and Competition Policy, serving as an original ICANN domain name dispute resolution arbitrator for eResolution and WIPO and as Rapporteur of the Hague Conference on Private International Law Commission on Jurisdiction for Torts in Electronic Commerce.

Mark Warner was featured in a CBC News article about the risks of possible U.S. trade challenges under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), the USMCA or Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to Quebec’s Bill 96 language law as it affects common law trademarks. (June 11, 2024) Interestingly, there is no mention of Quebec’s Bill 96 language law common law trademark concerns in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s 2024 Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement released in April keeping Canada on the “Special 301 Watch List”.

Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. As Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mr. Warner led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund focused, in part, on the digital media and information and communications technology sectors. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to leading ICT and digital media companies and led Ontario’s legal team in respect of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations including with respect to the Intellectual Property Chapter.

Mark’s experience with online technologies and e-commerce includes: participating in OECD-wide policy work on laws and regulations affecting e-commerce, acting as Chair, ICC Competition Commission Working Party on E-Commerce and Competition Policy, serving as an original ICANN domain name dispute resolution arbitrator for eResolution and WIPO and as Rapporteur of the Hague Conference on Private International Law Commission on Jurisdiction for Torts in Electronic Commerce.

As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, Mark advised on harmful tax competition issues and worked on other trade and competition issues, participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

Mark Warner was interviewed by the Financial Post for its Outlook 2024 series about Canada’s trade outlook for the coming year. (January 2, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. Mark was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade advising on trade negotiations and dispute settlement and on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including Huawei. Mr. Warner also previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate where he participated in the negotiations of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Group on Trade and Competition Policy and the Working Group on Trade and Investment.

As a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. As a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mark was responsible for establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation and led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation.

Mark has been an adviser to the Governments of Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam on competition and trade policy and at the invitation of the U.S. Department of State lectured in five cities in Japan on international antitrust law and policy.

Mark provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, Investment Canada and CFIUS issues, sanctions, export and import controls, foreign asset controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

Mark Warner was featured in the Globe and Mail talking about the trade implications of Canada’s purported refusal to delay its digital services tax further as overall multinational tax agreement brokered by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is pushed back. (July 12, 2022) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, Mark advised on harmful tax competition issues and worked on other trade and competition issues, participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

As Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mr. Warner led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations and led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations and trade and investment disputes. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark chaired an Insight Research Canadian Sharing Economy Symposium in Toronto in 2015. As a former Acting Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, Mark was responsible for prosecutions under the provincial consumer protection laws and regulations. Mark’s experience with online technologies and e-commerce includes: participating in OECD-wide policy work on laws and regulations affecting e-commerce, acting as Chair, ICC Competition Commission Working Party on E-Commerce and Competition Policy, serving as an original ICANN domain name dispute resolution arbitrator for eResolution and WIPO and as Rapporteur of the Hague Conference on Private International Law Commission on Jurisdiction for Torts in Electronic Commerce.

Mark Warner was featured in a Globe and Mail article about the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting two-pillar solution to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy, including a global deal reached on a 15% minimum corporate tax rate. (October 8, 2021) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, Mr. Warner advised on harmful tax competition issues and worked on other trade and competition issues. As Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mr. Warner led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations and led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations and trade and investment disputes. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark chaired an Insight Research Canadian Sharing Economy Symposium in Toronto in 2015. As a former Acting Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, Mark was responsible for prosecutions under the provincial consumer protection laws and regulations. Mark’s experience with online technologies and e-commerce includes: participating in OECD-wide policy work on laws and regulations affecting e-commerce, acting as Chair, ICC Competition Commission Working Party on E-Commerce and Competition Policy, serving as an original ICANN domain name dispute resolution arbitrator for eResolution and WIPO and as Rapporteur of the Hague Conference on Private International Law Commission on Jurisdiction for Torts in Electronic Commerce.

Mark provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, sanctions, export and import controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

Mark Warner was featured on the CBC Weekend Business Panel talking about the G7 global corporate tax deal, Air Canada pandemic executive bonuses, diversity on Canadian corporate boards and GDP growth rates. (June 5, 2021) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, he advised on harmful tax competition issues and worked on other trade and competition issues. As Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mr. Warner was responsible for establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation (OCGC) and providing corporate governance legal advice and secretarial support to its Board of Directors, as well as to the Board of Directors of the Ontario Immigrant Investor Corporation (OIIC), and other agencies administered by the Ministries.

As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mr. Warner provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations and and led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mr. Warner’s work with the airline industry includes: successfully coordinating multijurisdictional merger filings in the airport services industry in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and Germany; coordinating the merger notification and review of the acquisition of a regional chartered air carrier and a national scheduled air carrier in the United States; and representing a client in connection with an EU competition complaint against a dominant air carrier regarding restrictions on both passengers and travel agents that require the sequential use of airline tickets.

Mark Warner was featured on the CBC Weekend Business Panel talking about paid sick leave, the implications of President Biden’s capital gains tax proposals for Canada and  L.L. Bean opening new retail stores in Canada against the backdrop of the rise of ecommerce in the COVID19 pandemic. (May 1, 2021) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, Mr. Warner advised on harmful tax competition issues and worked on other trade and competition issues. As Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mr. Warner led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations and led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations and trade and investment disputes. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark chaired an Insight Research Canadian Sharing Economy Symposium in Toronto in 2015. As a former Acting Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, Mark was responsible for prosecutions under the provincial consumer protection laws and regulations. Mark’s experience with online technologies and e-commerce includes: participating in OECD-wide policy work on laws and regulations affecting e-commerce, acting as Chair, ICC Competition Commission Working Party on E-Commerce and Competition Policy, serving as an original ICANN domain name dispute resolution arbitrator for eResolution and WIPO and as Rapporteur of the Hague Conference on Private International Law Commission on Jurisdiction for Torts in Electronic Commerce.

Mark Warner was interviewed on the CBC Weekend Business Panel talking about Canadian job losses in January, regulation after the GameStop “revolution”, Google vs Microsoft in Australia and Jeff Bezos stepping down as Amazon’s CEO (February 6, 2021) Mark is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate, and represented the OECD Trade Directorate at meetings of the WTO Working Group on Trade and Competition and the Working Group on Trade and Investment.

Mark chaired an Insight Research Canadian Sharing Economy Symposium in Toronto in 2015. As a former Acting Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, Mark was responsible for prosecutions under the provincial consumer protection laws and regulations. Mark’s experience with online technologies and e-commerce includes: participating in OECD-wide policy work on laws and regulations affecting e-commerce, acting as Chair, ICC Competition Commission Working Party on E-Commerce and Competition Policy, serving as an original ICANN domain name dispute resolution arbitrator for eResolution and WIPO and as Rapporteur of the Hague Conference on Private International Law Commission on Jurisdiction for Torts in Electronic Commerce.

Mark was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised the Ontario Government with respect to cross-border trade in services, state enterprises and monopolies in the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, Mark also led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation and advised on research and innovation grants and loans to academics, universities and corporations.

Mark Warner was interviewed on Global News Radio 640 Toronto about the delay by Pfizer in delivering COVID19 vaccines to Canada against the backdrop of pharmaceutical industry concerns with Canadian intellectual property, tax and drug pricing policies. (January 20, 2021) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate.

Mr. Warner has assisted pharmaceutical clients in the global distribution of HIV / AIDS anti-retroviral drugs and the development of innovative patient access programs in the developing world, advised a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company and its French and South African subsidiaries in a cartel investigation involving 11 leading global Pharmaceutical companies in South Africa and advised a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company on competition law issues relating to the distribution of various nuclear medicine imaging agents in Canada. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario on the negotiations of the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) including on IP, patent litigation and drug reimbursement issues and on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including leading global pharmaceutical companies for research, manufacture and clinical trial projects. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, Mr. Warner also led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund with an emphasis on life-sciences companies, drafted funding agreements, including for the Ontario Research Fund and Ontario Brain Institute, and advised on legal and corporate governance issues in the formation of Clinical Trials Ontario.

In addition, Mr. Warner, led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler in the difficult context of the 2008-2009 Recession.

Mark Warner was interviewed on CTV Your Morning about the impact of the continuing closure of the Canada-U.S. border to non-essential travel impacts trade in goods and services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the prospect for change under a Biden Presidency. (December 30, 2020) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario in the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations advised on matters including: Cross Border Trade in Services; Temporary Entry and Stay of Natural Persons for Business Purposes; Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications; and Regulatory Cooperation. Mr. Warner also advised on procurement issues in the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement, on several NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-State arbitrations and led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.