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“It appears that two CRA workers did their job with diligence and commitment. It is time for their bosses to show leadership.” - Dennis Howlett, Canadians for Tax Fairness.
Ottawa (26 Sept. 2013) – Revelations that organized crime might be abusing the Canadian tax system clearly shows that Canada is not immune to sophisticated, multi-billion dollar global schemes that involve money laundering and hidden assets.
Canadians for Tax Fairness argue that more resources - not less - are needed to find big-time tax abusers
“We’ve been warning the government for years that they need to step up their capacity to fight mammoth abuses of the tax system,” said Dennis Howlett, executive director of Canadians for Tax Fairness (CTF). “Instead they cut back auditors and programs and have spent years talking about a reorganization that no one understands. They hound ordinary Canadians – waitresses, carpenters and the self-employed. Big-time tax abusers are laughing all the way to their offshore banks.”
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) dismantled the Special Enforcement Program and laid off 500 audit staff who deal with international cases. This belies the government’s commitment to fighting crime and protecting Canadian’s interests, Howlett says.
Criminal CRA investigates now in regular audit stream, with less employees working on cases
According to CRA documents, the agency transferred the “audit work that was previously carried out by criminal investigators into the regular audit stream.”
“Tax activists around the world have shown G8 leaders that trillions is going missing through some very shady deals that are nearly impossible to track,” says Howlett. “This is not an isolated example.”
“It appears that two CRA workers did their job with diligence and commitment,” Howlett says. “It is time for their bosses to show leadership.”
CTF is a national citizens’ organization dedicated to tax fairness.
More information:
All Together Now! campaign for tax fairness, public service, good jobs and labour rights
Income inequality: Monster in the closet
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE