Minister Lebouthillier Updates Canadians on the Government’s Progress to Crack Down on Tax Cheats

June 1, 2017 Ottawa Canada Revenue Agency

Hard-working Canadians pay taxes and in return, expect a tax system that is fair and where everyone pays their share. However, too many corporations and wealthy individuals are trying to find ways to not pay what they owe. This is why the Government of Canada has committed important resources to crack down on tax cheats, both at home and abroad, to make sure that all Canadians can continue benefiting from the programs they rely on to improve their quality of life. To that end, early results show that audits in the past fiscal year are on track to capture more than $13 billion-worth of taxes owed.

The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, provided an update earlier this week on the progress the government has made in addressing the recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Finance this past fall to combat tax evasion. Since it last responded to the Committee in February, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has made significant progress by:

• Strengthening its capacity by establishing specialized collection teams and adding technical and legal expertise to its audit and investigative teams.
• Improving processes to better use external data for the identification of high risk taxpayers.
• Increasing collaboration with domestic partners such as the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), to more effectively crack down on those who choose to participate in tax crimes.
• Increasing collaboration and information sharing with international partners because tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance transcends geographic borders.
• Striving for early resolution of audit issues in a fair and consistent manner, in the interest of all Canadians.
• Reviewing and modernizing existing programs, such as the Voluntary Disclosures Program, through consultation with experts and Canadians, to ensure our tax system is responsive and fair.

The Minister also took the opportunity to highlight some of the important measures that have been put in place at the CRA because of the historic investment made through Budgets 2016 and 2017. With the close to $1 billion in additional support to combat tax cheating at home and abroad, the Agency is better positioned and has more resources than ever to detect, audit, and combat illegal tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. Preliminary results show that the Agency is on track to generate over $13 billion from audit efforts for the most recent fiscal year ending March 31, 2017. Two-thirds of these revenues are the result of our audit efforts relating to large businesses and multinational companies.

Overall, the additional $1 billion in funding is expected to have a federal revenue impact of over $5 billion over the next five years.

This Government is committed to ensuring that those who promote or participate in tax avoidance and tax evasion face the full consequences of the law.