Anmore land developer and builder sentenced for tax evasion

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that Willi Isaak of Anmore, British Columbia, was sentenced to pay a $23,100 fine, after being found guilty on two counts of tax evasion and one count of making false statements under the Income Tax Act, and one count of goods and services tax / harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) evasion under the Excise Tax Act.

Mr. Isaak was a director and 50% shareholder of Baarak United Enterprises Ltd. (Baarak), a real estate development company. Baarak was responsible for the acquisition and subdivision of a 20-acre land parcel in the Village of Anmore, British Columbia. The trial judge determined that Mr. Isaak willfully evaded the payment of tax, by failing to report taxable corporate and personal income totalling $181,902 for the 2009 and 2010 tax years. Bank and accounting records revealed that several client payments for construction management fees and a BC Hydro refund related to the Anmore development were deposited into Mr. Isaak’s personal bank account, and unaccounted for in Baarak’s general ledgers. Mr. Isaak also failed to remit GST/HST collected from business operations during that period.

All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.

The CRA takes tax evasion very seriously. Tax evasion occurs when an individual or business wilfully ignores or disregards Canada’s tax laws. For example, those participating in tax evasion under-report taxable income or claim expenses that are non-deductible or overstated. Those who do not fully comply with tax laws place an unfair burden on law-abiding taxpayers and businesses and jeopardize the integrity of Canada's tax base. For the 5-year period of April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2018, the courts have convicted 307 taxpayers of tax evasion. This involved $134 million in federal tax evaded and court sentences totaling approximately $37 million in court fines and 2,964 months in jail.

Wilfully failing to follow tax laws could result in serious consequences, including reassessments, the imposition of civil penalties and criminal tax investigations and prosecutions resulting in the imposition of court fines and jail time. Under the income tax and excise tax laws, persons convicted of tax evasion will face fines ranging from 50% to 200% of the evaded taxes and up to five years imprisonment. If convicted of fraud under Section 380 of the Criminal Code, an individual can face up to 14 years in jail.

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Heidi Hofstad
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604-666-9389