Powers of the CRA The Minister of National Revenue (“Minister“) is responsible for administering and enforcing Canadian tax laws. In practice, however, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA“) performs nearly all of the Minister’s functions in administering the collection of taxes and enforcing Canadian tax laws. The CRA has been given broad powers to administer the […]
Gross Negligence Penalties Once the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA“) audits a taxpayer and comes to the conclusion that the taxpayer made false claims or under-reported their taxes, the CRA can apply additional penalties known as “gross negligence” penalties. The CRA imposes these penalties under subsection 163(2) of the Income Tax Act(“ITA”) and section 285 of the Excise […]
What is the CEWS Program? The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”) is a wage subsidy program provided to qualifying employers who have seen a drop in revenue due to COVID-19. If you are eligible for the CEWS program, you will receive a subsidy to cover part of your employee wages. The federal government introduced the […]
What is Tax Evasion Tax evasion is when a taxpayer intentionally evade Canadian tax laws to avoid paying their tax liability. Tax evasion can be done in many ways, for example, by purposely not reporting income, falsifying records, or inflating expenses. There are serious penalties associated with tax evasion, such as a hefty fine. There […]
Debts Owed to the CRA Vs. Other Creditors Owing a debt to the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA“) is not like any other debt. Unlike other creditors, the CRA has powerful and broad powers under the law that it can use to collect its debt owed to it. In addition, the CRA’s Collections Department is incredibly […]
Interest and Penalties The Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA“) charges taxpayers who fail to pay their tax debts on time daily compounded interest on their outstanding tax debts. The CRA can also charge taxpayers penalties for filing their taxes late. If you are faced with large tax debts and interests and penalties that continue to accumulate, […]
The Canada Revenue Agency’s (“CRA“) Voluntary Disclosures Program (“VDP“) is a program administered by the CRA that allows Canadian taxpayers to voluntarily come forward and declare previously undeclared income or to correct past filed tax returns without the fear of penalty or prosecution. Through the VDP, a taxpayer can come forward to the CRA and […]
The Canada Revenue Agency’s (“CRA“) audits mainly focus on those categories of taxpayers who are most likely to have under-reported their income. As employees and salary earners can have their income easily cross-checked against the information returns filed by their employers, it is self-employed taxpayers, corporations, and trusts that are the most likely to be […]
Corporations under the Law Under the law, a corporation is regarded as a separate and distinct legal entity from its owners and managers. This separate entity status is the keystone feature of a corporation and is explicitly set out in Canadian corporate law, which attaches the same legal capacity, powers, rights and privileges of a […]
Administration of Taxes by the CRA The Minister of National Revenue (the “Minister“) is the administrator of tax in Canada. However, in practice, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA“) performs nearly all of the Minister’s functions. When a taxpayer files a tax return, the CRA will ensure that all of the taxpayer’s required documentation has been […]