Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) - December 12, 2024 - Minister's binder

Opening remarks

OPENING REMARKS FOR THE HONOURABLE MARIE-CLAUDE BIBEAU, MINISTER OF NATIONAL REVENUE

Finance Standing Committee

Appearance on carousel-type schemes, debt write-offs and service delivery by the Canada Revenue Agency

Ottawa, Ontario

December 12, 2024

Check against delivery

Mr. Chair, we are pleased to have the opportunity to discuss carousel-type schemes, the debt write-off process and the Canada Revenue Agency’s service delivery.

Protecting the integrity and fairness of Canada’s tax system is a top priority for the Government of Canada and the Agency. The Agency is committed to combating tax evasion and tax avoidance both domestically and internationally.

Historic investments by the Government of Canada have enabled the Agency to expand the scope of its audits, improve its comprehensive data sources and enhance its analytical approaches.

It has been able to hire specialized resources. In addition, this funding has enabled the Agency to leverage strategic alliances with its domestic and international partners.

The Agency is therefore in a much better position to detect and deter the most serious cases of non-compliance, including abusive schemes in Canada’s Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) system, such as carousel schemes.

This deliberate focus on willful non-compliance enables the Agency to support its mandate to ensure that the tax system is fair for all.

The same is true for the Agency’s collection program, which — through innovation and the use of analytics and technology — also ensures a high level of results.

With respect to debt write-offs, it is absolutely important to note that the vast majority of accounts receivable are indeed collected over time. In addition, a write-off occurs when all of the Agency’s collection measures have been exhausted. And I can assure you that the Agency’s collection program is very rigorous before it gets to that stage.

The Agency’s collection strategy is designed to strike a balance between fiscal responsibility and maintaining a healthy portfolio.

That said, in the vast majority of cases, the debt remains in the taxpayer’s account. As soon as the taxpayer’s financial situation improves, active collection measures are then relaunched with the same rigour.

Finally, I would like to point out that in Canada, as abroad, all government institutions are currently under significant pressure in terms of services to the public.

In fact, it is mainly the Agency’s contact centres that are experiencing significant pressure.

In recent years, the Agency has recorded a record number of calls, largely due to the increase in the number of benefits and credits implemented to support the Canadian population during and since the COVID-19 pandemic.

This increase also includes services for people who are new to Canada. These people need a higher level of support to understand their new tax obligations and to learn how to access benefits and credits such as the Goods and Services Tax Credit, the Canada Carbon Rebate and the Canada Child Benefit.

That said, the Agency can improve its service delivery. Concrete solutions are already on the table, starting with the increased implementation of self-service options that are expected to help relieve the pressure on contact centres.

I will conclude by reminding you that the Canada Revenue Agency is a world-class tax and benefits administration. Its vision is to be helpful, fair and trustworthy, in keeping with its service philosophy that puts people first.

Furthermore, in the spirit of tax justice, which is a Canadian value, it is rigorously committed to ensuring that everyone, without exception, pays what they owe to the government’s coffers.

Mr. Chair, thank you.

Backgrounders

Write-Offs

Write-Offs (Overall)

Key Messages

• The Canada's income tax system is based on self-assessment. Under a self-assessment system, taxpayers are responsible for ensuring the information they report on their tax returns is accurate and complete. We know that most taxpayers file and pay their taxes on time. Over time, the CRA collects almost all tax from those who do not pay voluntarily.
• The CRA has a strong collections program that, through innovation and the use of analytics and technology, assures a strong level of collection results.
• The CRA continues to develop and implement collection strategies to improve its capacity to manage tax debt and avoid new debt from accumulating.
• The CRA works collaboratively with taxpayers to resolve their outstanding tax debts in a mutually satisfactory way. The CRA makes every effort to reach a mutually acceptable payment arrangement based on verified ability to pay.
• Once the CRA has exhausted all avenues of collection, the CRA will deem the debt to be uncollectible, at which point it will be administratively written-off. This could occur in the following cases:
  • Bankruptcy
  • The taxpayer does not have an ability to pay:
    • The taxpayer's current financial situation including assets and income has been reviewed and it has been determined that the taxpayer's situation has no prospects in future collection, or they are insolvent.
    • Collections actions against known sources of income and assets have been completed and exhausted, and in the case of an insolvency, no further payments to creditors are expected.
  • The taxpayer cannot be located in spite of exhaustive efforts to determine the taxpayer's current location and avenues of collection.
  • The collection limitation period has expired and the debt becomes “statute-barred” under the Income Tax Act.
• Write-offs are a normal part of business accounting.
• Amounts written off represent a small portion of total receivables, and the vast majority will be collected over time. Total gross revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year was $791.2 billion, of which $4.4 billion was written off.

When does CRA deem a debt uncollectible / written-off?

Key Messages

• The Canada's income tax system is based on self-assessment. Under a self-assessment system, taxpayers are responsible for ensuring the information they report on their tax returns is accurate and complete. We know that most taxpayers file and pay their taxes on time. Over time, the CRA collects almost all tax from those who do not pay voluntarily.
• The CRA has a strong collections program that, through innovation and the use of analytics and technology, assures a strong level of collection results. For example – on average over the last 5 years 96.3% of our yearly production was paid, however the intake is outpacing our yearly production which is increasing the tax debt. 
• The CRA continues to develop and implement collection strategies to improve its capacity to manage tax debt and avoid new debt from accumulating.
• The CRA works collaboratively with taxpayers to resolve their outstanding tax debts in a mutually satisfactory way. The CRA makes every effort to reach a mutually acceptable payment arrangement based on verified ability to pay.
• Once the CRA has exhausted all avenues of collection, the CRA will deem the debt to be uncollectible, at which point it will be administratively written-off. This could occur in the following cases:
  • Bankruptcy
  • The taxpayer does not have an ability to pay.
    • The taxpayer's current financial situation including assets and income has been reviewed and it has been determined that the taxpayer's situation has no prospects in future collection, or they are insolvent.
    • Collections actions against known sources of income and assets have been completed and exhausted, and in the case of an insolvency, no further payments to creditors are expected.
  • The taxpayer cannot be located in spite of exhaustive efforts to determine the taxpayer's current location and avenues of collection.
  • The collection limitation period has expired and the debt becomes “statute-barred” under the Income Tax Act.

Does writing off a debt release the taxpayer from their obligation to pay off the debt?

Key Messages :

• Administratively writing off a debt does not release the taxpayer from their obligation to pay off the debt, with the exceptions of non-recoverable debts such as debts that have reached collection limitation period and individuals discharged under the Bankruptcy an Insolvency Act (BIA).
• Any significant improvement in the taxpayer's financial situation will result in efforts to collect the debt once again.
• The debt will remain on the taxpayer's account and, should credits or other income become available, they are applied to the outstanding debt, and active collections may be reinitiated.
• Additionally, since a person may have multiple accounts (for example a corporation may have a corporate account, a GST/HST account, and a payroll account, plus others, potentially), a credit on one account may be applied to a debt on another related account.

How does CRA ensure transparency regarding write-offs?

Key Messages :

• Information relating to debts, obligations and claims written off or forgiven are itemized under each relevant federal act, and are available online under the Public Accounts of Canada, Volume III, Section 2 for each fiscal year.
• Information relating to 2023-2024 debt write-offs will be published in the upcoming Public Accounts of Canada 2023-2024, which is expected to be tabled in Parliament in the Fall of 2024.
• Information relating to 2024-2025 debt write-offs will be published in the Public Accounts of Canada 2024-2025.

Carousel

Carousel Tax Fraud (Overall)

Key Messages

• The CRA remains committed to combatting aggressive GST/HST schemes that circumvent the spirit of Canada's tax laws.
• Carousel schemes involve GST/HST registrants colluding in order to claim unwarranted refunds and intentionally avoid complying with our tax laws.
• To combat this type of abusive non-compliance, our strategies include early detection, prevention, and verification measures, and when appropriate, criminal investigations.
• Previous budget investments in business intelligence, auditors, and data analytics tools will continue to allow the CRA to better target potential areas of non-compliance.
• Building on a strong international network, the CRA's approach is responsive to lessons learned by other countries who face the same challenges.
• Since 2017-2018, more than $1.7 billion has been identified through audits that specifically target carousel schemes and other aggressive GST/HST schemes.
• The confidentiality provisions of the Excise Tax Act prevent the CRA from discussing specific taxpayer information and ongoing audits or litigation.
• The CRA continues to work with partners in Canada and internationally to develop innovative solutions to improve our compliance approaches to address these schemes.

Carousel Schemes

Key Messages

• The CRA remains committed to combatting aggressive GST/HST schemes that circumvent the spirit of Canada's tax laws.
• The carousel scheme involves GST/HST registrants colluding together to claim unwarranted refunds to intentionally avoid complying with our tax laws.
• Previous budget investments in business intelligence, auditors, and data analytics tools will continue to allow the CRA to better target potential areas of non-compliance.
• Building on a strong international network, the CRA's approach is responsive to lessons learned by other countries who face the same challenges.
• Since 2017-2018, more than $1.7 billion has been identified through audits that specifically target carousel schemes and other aggressive GST/HST schemes.
• The confidentiality provisions of the Excise Tax Act prevent the CRA from discussing specific taxpayer information and ongoing audits or litigation.
• The CRA continues to work with partners in Canada and internationally to develop innovative solutions to improve our compliance approaches to address these schemes.

What steps is CRA proactively taking to combatting aggressive GST/HST arrangements?

Key Messages

• Carousel schemes are continuously evolving and often involve complex networks of multiple entities. This type of scheme can be very difficult to detect as the books and records are often manufactured to look real and can involve immense paper trails of invoices transiting through, at times, hundreds of entities.
• When these types of threats or suspicious activities are identified, the CRA has various programs and measures to address them.
• From early detection and prevention, to audit and criminal compliance measures, the CRA is continuously evolving its methods to ensure it has the right tools to tackle this aggressive non-compliance. 
• The CRA has dedicated programs that identify, deregister and safeguard GST/HST accounts that are registered as a result of identity theft, as well as programs that verify commercial activity before the initial GST/HST return is filed. This allows us to close suspicious accounts before a return is filed and an unwarranted refund is paid. These programs are based on enhanced risk assessment tools designed to identify and prevent suspicious entities from infiltrating our filing population.
• The CRA strives to prevent payment of unwarranted refunds while promptly issuing eligible GST/HST refunds.
• In 2021, the CRA received funding from the Government of Canada to increase its investments in relationship matching and machine-learning tools. We aim to prevent and address GST/HST schemes, including carousel schemes, as early as possible in our filing population. These ongoing enhancements allow the CRA to identify suspicious transactions and uncover patterns of behaviour earlier and more accurately.

What investments has the CRA made to better detect these aggressive GST/HST arrangements?

Key Messages

• The CRA has made significant investments in the detection and prevention of these aggressive GST/HST arrangements by expanding business intelligence and data analytics tools that identify and address wilful non-compliance.
• We have enhanced our compliance activities of registrants through reviews, examinations, audits and criminal investigations where appropriate.
• The ability to respond to threats in real time helps the CRA prevent suspicious entities from infiltrating our filing population, while ensuring everyone meets their filing obligations.
• As these schemes are often multifaceted, we are engaged in numerous collaborations with our tax administration partners.
• Some of these activities include recurring engagements with our international partners to identify emerging risks and best practices, consultation with the Department of Finance, and a close partnership with the Department of Justice to provide support through the audit and litigation process.

Service

CRA's Transaction Data

Key Messages

Individual tax revenue

• In 2023-2024, the CRA administered over $430B in individual tax revenue.
• The CRA processes over 32 million individual tax returns in a year.
• This represents approximately $1.6B in revenues and 124K transactions per business day.
• Over the last tax season, the CRA issued $43B in payments relating to individual tax returns (19M transactions).

Benefits

• In 2023-2024, the CRA issued close to $55B in benefits (federal and provincial) through close to 214M transactions.

Contact centre planned & ongoing improvement efforts

Key Messages

• The CRA is always looking to provide our best, and most secure services to Canadians, helping people to have the information they need when they need it. This commitment includes making sure people have what they need to file their taxes each year.
• We understand that individuals often look to the CRA for help in understanding their tax and benefits situation, and that long wait times when calling or working with the CRA are frustrating.
• That is why we are continuously working to make calling the CRA a better experience, and to improve self-service options that eliminate the need to call us altogether. Recent improvements include:
  • Extending contact centre hours of service to provide equal service to people in different time zones across Canada. CRA contact centres are now open Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET and 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturdays.
  • Updating the progress tracker in My Account so you can check the status of your file or processing times for a request for the disability tax credit, taxpayer relief or for a formal dispute.
  • Making it easier to register and use the CRA’s sign-in services through the document verification service, which allows people to use government-issued photo identification to register for digital services such as My Account, My Business Account and Represent a Client and get immediate access to their account.
  • Making live contact centre wait times available online on Canada.ca so you can determine the best time to call. During periods of exceptionally high call demand, live wait times may be taken down temporarily, and you can continue getting help with common questions by visiting Canada.ca/cra-contact.
• Constantly improving our online services helps people find the information they need without having to call us. This makes it easier for people who need to call, whether they prefer to or have a complex situation, to speak to an agent.
• At the CRA, we are committed to continually assessing and improving our services to meet the diverse needs of taxpayers and benefit recipients. By seeking feedback from people, we strive to make our programs and services more streamlined and client-centric, all while safeguarding the privacy and security of personal information and improving overall satisfaction.
• Throughout the fall, the CRA is holding public consultations on service to hear from individuals, non-professional representatives, and tax intermediaries from across the country. From September 25 to December 13, 2024, individuals and non-professional representatives have the opportunity to share feedback on their experiences interacting with CRA services through an online questionnaire.

Hard-to-Reach / Vulnerable Populations

Key Messages

• The Government of Canada prioritizes the unique needs of Canada’s most vulnerable populations, and the CRA is doing its part by ensuring those individuals are able to access tax benefits and credits in an easy and timely manner.
• The CRA has been working with ESDC to identify additional opportunities to improve the services provided to individuals requiring a high level of support to access benefits.
• To this end, CRA and ESDC have established a national working group to:
  • discuss increased collaboration and coordination of outreach activities,
  • streamline programs and services
  • determine gaps and propose solutions and recommendations.
• The CRA has been implementing some of the recommendations, designed to address tax filing challenges faced by vulnerable Canadians:
  • Complement and enhance ESDC’s current mailing activities supporting Canada Learning Bond (CLB) sign-up events by expanding to include information on a wide range of Government of Canada programs and benefits, such as SIN, tax-filing, tax benefits and credits, including the Canada Child Benefit, passport, and Canada Pension Plan / Old Age Security.
  • The phone service referral pilot -– CRA’s Client Assistance Referral and Enquiry Service (CARES) agents and ESDC Outreach Support Centre (OSC) CRA  and ESDC outreach phone agents employees across Canada identify and directly transfer callers any individuals in need of assistance to the other service provider. 
  • Outreach event collaborative space - Create shared master contact lists and calendars of ESDC and CRA outreach events and activities to help promote collaboration (including Canada Learning Bond/Registered Education Savings Plan). 

Improving Outreach to New Canadians

Key Messages

• The Government of Canada prioritizes the unique needs of Canada’s most vulnerable populations, including newcomers,  by ensuring those individuals are able to file their taxes and access the benefits and credits they are entitled to in an easy and timely manner.
• The CRA is taking proactive steps to ensure vulnerable populations, including newcomers to Canada, are aware of, and able to access, the benefits and credits they are entitled to by developing plans and products tailored to their needs.
• In March 2023, the CRA completed comprehensive research and consultation with newcomers and the organizations that support them. Those findings informed the development of a national tax and filing benefit strategy for newcomers which aims to improve tax literacy, create awareness, and support tax filing among this segment of the population.
• In the summer of 2023, the CRA began implementing the initiatives outlined in the strategy, which are designed to address the tax filing challenges faced by newcomers. This work will continue through to 2025.

Automatic Tax Filing

Key Messages

• The Government of Canada is taking concrete actions to support lower-income and vulnerable people.
• The CRA currently offers eligible lower-income and vulnerable individuals a free, easy, and secure automated telephone service to file their taxes called SimpleFile by Phone.
• This service enables individuals to auto-file an income tax and benefit return quickly and easily by answering a series of short questions over the phone.
• In February 2024, the CRA issued more than 1.5M SimpleFile by Phone invitations to eligible lower-income and vulnerable Canadians to file their 2023 income tax and benefit returns.
• The CRA is on track to increase the number of invitations for SimpleFile by Phone to 2M in February 2025.
• Additionally, in July 2024, the CRA expanded its SimpleFile phone, paper and digital options to all provinces and territories as part of a pilot, where over 500,000 invitation letters were sent to lower-income and non-taxable individuals who had either never filed a tax return, or had a gap in their filing history.
• The CRA will be meeting with its advisory group on automatic tax filing in the next few weeks, followed by consultations with stakeholders, community organizations, tax professionals and Canadians on the next phase of Canada’s automatic tax filing plan beyond 2025.

2024 Service Consultations

Key Messages

• CRA's 2024 service consultations officially launched on September 25, 2024.
• The CRA is engaging with individuals, non-professional representatives, and tax intermediaries to hear about their recent service experiences and get feedback on ways the CRA can continue to improve its programs and services via three consultation methods:
• An online questionnaire is available to the public from September 25 to December 13, 2024.
• The in-person (8) and virtual (12) consultation sessions, with primarily hard-to-reach populations (youth, seniors, housing insecure and newcomers), started on September 26. By November 20, 2024, the CRA will have visited 5 different cities (Gatineau, Toronto, Whitehorse, Okotoks, Sherbrooke).
• The virtual sessions (4) with tax intermediaries are currently scheduled between November 21 and December 10, 2024.
• While we cannot comment on the results of the public consultations as they are still ongoing, a full analysis of the results will begin once the consultations conclude on December 13, 2024.
• The "What We Learned" report will be published on Canada.ca in March 2025.

Background

Questionnaire uptake (November 8, 2024)

Quick facts

• 1800 completed questionnaire
• 53.25% completion rates
• 3380 total responses, including partial responses
• 178 respondents (4.85%) screened out because they don’t meet the screening criteria

Respondents by role

• 79% responded as individuals
• 14% responded as professional tax intermediaries
• 7% responded as non-professional representatives

Regional representation

• Ontario: 683 respondents (35.08%)
• British Columbia: 480 respondents (24.65%)
• Alberta: 377 respondents (19.36%)
• Quebec: 70 respondents (3.60%)

Consultations schedule by locations & client segments

8 in-person sessions – Individuals

• Sept 26 & Nov 20 – Gatineau, QC (Youth, Seniors)
• Oct 2 & 3  - Toronto, ON (Newcomers, Housing insecure/modest income)
• Oct 9 - Whitehorse, YK (Seniors)
• Nov 5 & 6 – Okotoks, AB (newcomers, general population)
• Nov 12 – Sherbrooke, QC (general population)

12 virtual sessions – Individuals

• Oct 7 & 22 - Youth
• Oct 15 & 23 - Seniors
• Oct 16 & 29 - Housing insecure/modest income
• Oct 17 & Nov 19 - General population
• Oct 21 - Non-professional representatives
• Oct 30 - Newcomers
• Nov 13 - Housing insecure/modest income
• Nov 14 - Seniors

4 virtual sessions – Tax intermediaries

• November 21, 2024
• November 28, 2024
• December 5, 2024
• December 10, 2024

COVID-19 compliance measures

Key Messages

• As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada selected an attestation-based approach to enable the rapid delivery of COVID-19 benefits to millions of Canadians.
• This meant that claimants self-declared the information they provided when they applied for benefits, understanding that the CRA would verify this information at the time of filing and/or at a later date.
• The Government was clear throughout the pandemic that while there would not be any penalties for those who applied for these benefits in good faith, individuals would have to repay those benefits they were not entitled to.
• In her report in December 2022, the Auditor General recommended that $12.1 billion of COVID-19 benefits payments be investigated further. The CRA has committed to review 875,000 cases and estimates that, once completed, it will have reviewed approximately $17.5 billion in individual benefit payments.
• The CRA is transparent with its compliance work. It provides quarterly progress reports presenting statistics on the number of post-payment verifications conducted for the COVID-19 benefit programs to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts (in response to Recommendation 5 of its 2023 Report on Specific COVID-19 Benefits).
• In July 2020, the CRA started to assess high-risk applications before issuing payments. This was followed by post-payment verification reviews starting in January 2022. Compliance efforts are slated to continue until 2025.
• The CRA adopts a risk-based approach, focusing its efforts to review files with the highest likelihood of ineligibility or significant potential recovery amounts.
• The CRA blocked approximately 700,000 high-risk individuals from applying, resulting in $378 million in halted payments and preventing an estimated $5 billion in future benefits from being issued.

CRA Spending Review

Key Messages

• The CRA undertakes regular reviews of its financial resources to ensure they are in line with the CRA’s strategic direction and Government of Canada priorities. Making informed decisions and sound investments allow the CRA to successfully deliver our programs, benefits, and services to Canadians.
• Ongoing reviews of government spending are a key part of managing public finances in a prudent and responsible manner. We are focused on balancing current demands with the need to ensure sustainable operations moving forward.
• As the Government of Canada continues its focus on funding key priorities for Canadians, and we transition away from pandemic operations, we must also ensure that resources within the CRA are focused on supporting our key priorities.
• Over the coming months, adjustments and decisions may need to be made that are in the best interest of the CRA’s long-term sustainability. While this may require some difficult choices, we are committed to ensuring our operations remain aligned with both government priorities and fiscal responsibility. We anticipate that these restrictions will be relaxed over time, as our financial position stabilizes.
• As such, on November 7, 2024, the CRA introduced new control measures that will be in place until further notice:
  • Restrictions on certain hiring activities, such as stopping permanent external appointments, permanent promotions, new term appointments for non-critical workloads, new student appointments, student bridging and incoming Interchange agreements;
  • A temporary increase in the HR delegation authority to Assistant Commissioner level;
  • A freeze on non-critical overtime and an increase in the approval level of overtime; and
  • An expectation that employees will take their vacation and compensatory leave during the year, to eliminate the need to cash out unused leave.
• The CRA notified both the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) Audit, Financial and Scientific (AFS) Group of these new measures.
• The CRA is continuing to review its spending, to ensure we are operating efficiently and are able to fulfill our commitments to Canadians. Further measures may be required as we continue this review. All employees will be notified if any further measures are put in place.

Issues regarding T1135

Key messages:

• The CRA has conducted a thorough review of all its T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement procedures and systems and found no evidence of any delays, irregularities, system outages, failures or malfunctions by EFILE software or CRA T1135 E-filing processes.
• Form T1135 must be filed by Canadian resident individuals, corporations, partnerships, and certain trusts that, at any time during the year, own specified foreign property costing more than $100,000.
• The deadline to file a T1135 is on or before the filing-due date of the taxpayer's income tax return.
• The late filing penalty is calculated at $25 a day up to a maximum of 100 days.
• Based on the CRA review, there were no software or system issues that would have prevented a taxpayer or their representative from filing Form T1135 on time.

Other

Safeguarding Protected Information at CRA

Key Messages

• We do not comment on ongoing investigations so as not to compromise the integrity of those investigations.
• The CRA is fully committed to protecting the integrity of the tax system for the benefit of Canadian taxpayers. This includes safeguarding protected information which would be beneficial to fraudsters. 
• We take seriously our responsibility to prevent any harmful distribution of protected information and we are dedicated to upholding the integrity of the tax system.
• At all times, the CRA is focused on ensuring that all employees adhere to their duty of loyalty and confidentiality to the CRA, the Government of Canada, and all Canadians.
• Like any organization, the CRA makes it clear to employees that only designated spokespersons can speak on behalf of the CRA, a point which was reiterated in a recent memo to employees.
• Employees have several options for expressing concerns they see in the workplace, some of which offer anonymity:
  • To a manager or supervisor;
  • To the CRA’s Internal Affairs Division, which can be done anonymously if by mail or fax;
  • To the CRA Anonymous Reporting Line;
  • To the CRA’s Internal Disclosures Office, which is not anonymous but protects the identity of the employee from being released to any respondent(s) under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act; or
  • Directly to the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner.

Tax Evasion and Avoidance

Key Messages

• The CRA is actively pursuing individuals and businesses that engage in tax non-compliance or tax fraud in Canada and abroad.
• Those who wilfully choose not to fulfill their tax obligations can face serious consequences including criminal charges, prosecution, court imposed fines, jail time, and a criminal record.
• With enhanced data sources, the CRA is well-positioned to target those wealthy individuals who deliberately push, or exceed, the limits of acceptable tax planning to evade or avoid taxes and side-step reporting obligations.
• With continued budget investments, and a strong international network of tax treaties, it’s now harder than ever to hide money offshore.
• The CRA’s increased collaboration with domestic and international partners ensures that multinationals and participants in the digital economy pay the taxes they owe.
• The CRA continues to use tools, such as enhanced business intelligence and advanced data analytics to improve risk assessments, and to detect and address the most serious instances of non-compliance.
• The CRA is working diligently with its partners in the Department of Finance Canada, and the Department of Justice Canada, to evaluate and propose new and enhanced tax legislation and policy that will help close tax loopholes used by tax promoters and advisors to help their clients avoid paying the appropriate amount of taxes.

Commitee Members of FINA

https://www.ourcommons.ca/committees/en/FINA/Members?membershipOn=2024-09-18