Millbrook business operator fined $500,000 for tax evasion

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that Lisa L. Marshall of Truro, Nova Scotia, was sentenced on January 13, 2023, in Dartmouth Provincial Court to a total fine of $500,000. Marshall pleaded guilty on May 5, 2021 to wilfully evading or attempting to evade compliance with the Excise Tax Act.

A CRA investigation revealed that Marshall is the operator of Traditional Trading Post located on the Millbrook First Nation reserve land in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. From July 1, 2013, to January 31, 2014, and from April 1, 2014, to July 31, 2015, Marshall failed to collect or remit Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) on sales of tobacco to non-indigenous customers. Over the two time periods listed above, Marshall evaded a total of $988,791.20 in GST/HST.

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, court ordered fines, jail time, and a criminal record. From April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, there were 23 convictions, with court imposed fines totalling $3,303,110. These taxpayers were sentenced for wilfully evading payment amounts totalling $4,407,386 in federal tax. Out of the 23 convictions, 10 individuals were sent to jail for a total of 15.3 years.

In addition to the court imposed fines and/or jail sentences, convicted taxpayers have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA.

The CRA is dedicated to maintaining the integrity of Canada’s tax system, thereby contributing to the social and economic well-being of Canadians. The CRA continues to aggressively pursue tax evasion, and false claims with all the tools available to it. The CRA works to make sure that individuals and businesses report all income earned and only claim benefits to which they are entitled, so that important benefit programs can be administered to those who need them. Any individual or business who underreports income, or claims losses or benefits to which they are not entitled may have to repay the benefit amounts and may be subject to other possible action.

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Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
613-948-8366
cra-arc.media@cra-arc.gc.ca

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