Halifax business owner fined over $113,000 for making false GST/HST statements

January 6, 2021

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that Pantelis Panagiotis Giannoulis, also known as Peter Giannoulis Sr., pleaded guilty on January 5, 2021 to two counts of making false statements on the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) returns in Halifax Provincial Court. Giannoulis Sr., who owns and operates a hotel and restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was sentenced to pay a fine of $113,223, which represents 100% of the taxes evaded. In addition to the court imposed fine, Giannoulis Sr. will have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA.

A CRA investigation revealed that Giannoulis Sr., who owns and operates the Comfort Hotel Bayer’s Lake and the restaurant then known as the Canadiana Pub and Grill Limited, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was supposed to remit GST/HST collected by the Comfort Hotel Bayer’s Lake, as well as the GST/HST collected by the Canadiana Pub and Grill. Investigators found that over two quarterly periods, from April 1, 2012, to September 30, 2012, Giannoulis Sr. wilfully submitted false GST/HST returns. These returns under-reported the amount of GST/HST collected by both the hotel and the restaurant. As a result, over the period of six months, Giannoulis Sr. evaded the payment of $113,223 in GST/HST collected.

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

Tax evasion is a crime. Falsifying records and claims, wilfully 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 wilfully evading payment of $7,427,090 in tax.

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 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.

Associated Links

Contacts

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

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