Saskatchewan Agri-Scientist fined over $86,000 for tax evasion

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that Dr. Yantai Gan, formerly of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, and now residing in Kelowna, British Columbia, was sentenced on May 3, 2023, in the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan in Swift Current to a total fine of $86,362. Dr. Gan pleaded guilty to one count of wilfully evading, or attempting to evade, the payment of tax by understating the taxable income on his personal tax returns from 2012 to 2017 consecutively.

Dr. Gan worked for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2017. As part of his employment contract with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, he was not permitted to provide his services as an agriculture scientist to others for payment. However, Dr. Gan entered into contracts with an educational institution located in China and a pasta producer based in the United States. A CRA investigation revealed that Dr. Gan did not report any of the $300,971 (CAD) income he received from these contracts during the period of January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2017.

Also, Dr. Gan did not report rental income in the amount of $12,127, earned between September 2016 and December 2017 on a property located in Kelowna, BC.

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

Cheating on your taxes affects the services and programs we all rely on to improve our quality of life. While most Canadians obey the tax laws and pay their taxes, the CRA continues to maintain various programs to protect the integrity of the tax system. The CRA investigates suspected cases of tax evasion, tax fraud, and other serious violations of the tax laws and recommends cases to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) for possible criminal prosecution. After a case has been referred to the PPSC, they will independently review the evidence and decide whether or not to prosecute.

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.

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

Associated Links

• Leads Program
• Voluntary Disclosures Program

Contacts

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

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