The Canada Revenue Agency reports that Michael Channer, of Vaughan, Ont;, was found guilty on 16 counts under the Tax Rebate Discounting Act (TRDA) in the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket on February 8. He was fined $8,000.

A CRA investigation determined that Channer, operator of MBC Accounting Services in Scarborough, Ont. committed several offences under the TRDA while preparing and discounting 2003 personal income tax returns for clients.

Channer failed to pay some clients the full amount of the income tax refund to which they were entitled, failed to pay some clients their income tax refund at the time required, and did not provide some clients with their Notice of Assessment from the CRA, or Notice of the Actual Amount of the Refund of Tax.

Channer also provided the CRA with false cash receipts that did not match the date and amount when his clients were actually paid their income tax refunds.

The TRDA regulates the practice of tax discounting in Canada. It s designed to protect consumers who use tax refund discounting services in order to obtain cash in exchange for their income tax refund.