Senator calls on budget watchdog to take CRA to court to reveal tax gap information

The CRA does an 'absolutely terrible job' on overseas tax evasion convictions,
says P.E.I. Sen. Percy Downe, and should concentrate its efforts there.

A Liberal senator is asking the government's budget watchdog to flex his legislative muscles and take the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to court to reveal how much money is lost to tax avoidance.

The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has been fighting with the CRA for five years for information to evaluate Canada's "tax gap," the difference between taxes that should be received and the amount that actually end up being collected.

The PBO says the revenue agency has been refusing its repeated requests for income data, arguing that sharing the information would break confidentiality laws. The PBO has argued it is only after numbers, not personal information.

"Allowing the Parliamentary Budget Officer to provide an independent estimate of the tax gap is long overdue, and if the Canada Revenue Agency will not provide the necessary data, it must be compelled to do so," said Sen. Percy Downe in a statement Monday.

"By refusing to supply the information the PBO has repeatedly requested, the Canada Revenue Agency is in violation of both the spirit and the letter of the law."  (more...)

Senator calls on budget watchdog to take CRA to court to reveal tax gap information

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