London resident fined for failing to report two years of sales commissions

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that Toufic R. Zabian of London, Ontario, was fined $117,513 on September 22, 2020. Zabian pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice in London to two counts of tax evasion under the Income Tax Act for failing to report income and to two counts under the Excise Tax Act for failing to remit goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST). In addition to the court imposed fine, Zabian will also have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA.

A CRA investigation revealed that Zabian, a car salesperson, earned commissions on vehicle and warranty sales totalling $304,243, for the tax years 2014 and 2015, but he failed to report these commissions as income on his personal tax returns, resulting in $78,451 in federal income tax evaded. Zabian also collected GST/HST for the services he rendered to the car dealership and to the warranty protection company but failed to remit GST/HST to the CRA totalling $39,062, for two 12-month periods ending December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2015.

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

Tax evasion is a crime. Falsification of records and claims, willfully not reporting income, or inflating expenses can lead to criminal charges, prosecution, jail time, and a criminal record. From April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, there were 32 convictions, with 13 taxpayers sent to jail for a total of 18.5 years. These individuals were sentenced for willfully evading payment of $7,427,090 in tax.

The CRA remains dedicated to maintaining the integrity of Canada’s tax system, and the social and economic well-being of Canadians during these unprecedented times. The CRA continues to aggressively pursue tax evasion and false claims with all the tools available to them. The CRA is dedicated to ensuring that individuals and businesses make claims to which they are entitled so that important benefit programs can be administered to those who need them. As a result of COVID-19, we are seeing the increased importance of these benefits, and are working to ensure that they continue to be available to Canadians. Any individual or business who makes claims that they are not entitled to, including ineligible claims related to new COVID-19 benefits, may be required to repay the benefit or be subject to other possible action.

The CRA has set up a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current on the CRA’s enforcement efforts.

- 30 -

Contact

Paul N Murphy
Senior Communications Advisor
416-952-8105
PaulNoel.Murphy@cra-arc.gc.ca