Bonnyville man fined over $269K and sentenced to seven months in jail

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that, on June 4, 2021, Mr. Clayton Kubbernus of Bonnyville, Alberta, was sentenced to seven months in jail, and fined a total of $269,726. On November 27, 2020, Kubbernus pleaded guilty in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, to one count of tax evasion relating to a personal tax return, one count of tax evasion as the sole director of 1083627 Alberta Ltd., and one count of tax evasion regarding Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) filings for the same corporation. The fine represents 100% of the taxes he evaded.

A CRA investigation revealed that Mr. Kubbernus moved money from his corporation to his personal bank account, and did not report the income on either the corporation’s tax returns, which he failed to file, or his personal tax returns, resulting in tax evasion. Kubbernus, as sole owner of 1083627 Alberta Ltd., charged GST/HST on services provided but failed to file GST/HST returns for the corporation or remit any of the GST/HST collected. 

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 maintains various programs to protect the integrity of the tax system.

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 report income earned and eligible losses, and claim 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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Contacts

Joanne de Waal
Communications Manager
Canada Revenue Agency
306-517-0515
cra-arc.media@cra-arc.gc.ca