Federal revenue minister Gail Shea reports that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has received information from fellow governments on Canadian residents with offshore assets.
Last month, tax officials in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia announced that they had obtained data exposing cases of potential tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance; and, at the time, Shea said that they pledged to share information relevant to Canada. Now, she says that the CRA has obtained this information, and that it plans to pursue tax collection.
The government indicates that the data received by the CRA “is voluminous and requires substantial review”, which, it says, is currently underway. “Given the magnitude and complexity of the data, the CRA will perform a thorough analysis and take actions as appropriate,” it notes.
“Our government takes the abuse of Canada’s tax laws seriously. We have reached out to key international partners and have been working to obtain this data in accordance with our tax treaties,” she said. “We are now in possession of information on Canadians with offshore assets and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure all Canadians pay their fair share of taxes.”
Earlier this year, in its budget, the federal government promised to step up its efforts to crack down on international tax evasion and avoidance including a bounty program, new reporting requirements, the mandatory reporting of international electronic funds transfers over $10,000, and streamlining the judicial process that allows the CRA to obtain information from third parties such as banks.