Truro business owner sentenced and fined over $459,000 for filing false statements in his GST/HST returns

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that Keith Roderick Julien of Truro, Nova Scotia, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on December 16, 2020, in the Truro Provincial Court, to a fine of $459,436. Julien pleaded guilty to 15 counts of making false or deceptive statements in his goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) returns under the Excise Tax Act. In addition to the court imposed fine, Julien has instructed his accountant to file his GST/HST returns for the last five years and publicly accepted his obligations under the Excise Tax Act. Julien 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 Julien, who operates Keith’s Gas Bar, a business on the Millbrook First Nation in Truro, Nova Scotia, failed to report the GST/HST that he collected from non-indigenous customers from January 2013 to March 2014. He filed false GST/HST statements for that 15-month period, saying he collected zero GST/HST when in fact he collected $459,436.

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

The CRA pursues tax evaders to maintain the integrity of our tax system. The CRA investigates suspected cases of tax evasion, fraud, and other serious violations of tax laws and recommends cases to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) for criminal prosecution. During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the PPSC conviction rate for tax-related crimes was 94%. When taxpayers are convicted of GST/HST tax evasion, they must still repay the full amount of taxes owing, plus interest and any civil penalties that may be assessed by the CRA. In addition, the court may fine them up to 200% of the taxes evaded and impose a jail term of up to five years.

The CRA remains dedicated to maintaining the integrity of Canada's tax system, as well as 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 continuously working towards making sure that individuals and businesses claim income earned, eligible losses, and benefits 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 make sure that they continue to be available to Canadians. Any individual or business who underreports income, or claims losses or benefits to which they are not entitled, including ineligible claims for COVID-19 benefits, may have to repay the benefit amounts and may 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.

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Associated links

• Leads Program
• Voluntary Disclosures Program

Contacts

Media Relations
Jeffrey Lansing
Canada Revenue Agency
902-233-5085
jeffrey.lansing@cra-arc.gc.ca