For the individual personal tax payer who has been handling back tax affairs with the CRA they will tell you that it is always the little person that the tax department goes after. This segment of the government is taking pride in their transparency, which means they now can now disclose who they have brought before the courts for legal action.
An example is a recent posting about an Etobicoke contractor who was brought before the courts on 7 counts of not filing personal and GST/HST returns. The news release is in respect to the fines that were levied.
Now for some they may feel that this is a small tax case when you consider the major offshore crimes that were brought to light in the past year, and there doesn’t seem to be much being done about it.
The bottom line is though while you may personally feel that the CRA is biased towards the small taxpayer but everyone has their own responsibility for paying taxes, and that should be the focus of attention.
Not complying with the tax laws is not the way to react to your opinions. The best way you can be pro-active in how the government dictates tax laws is to know which political party takes the same stance as you do, and then vote for them when the opportunity arises.
One area that can get you into big trouble with the tax department as a business person is if you use money from your company for personal purposes and do not claim this on your personal tax. Some people do this intentionally, while others don’t realize the proper accounting and tax filing procedures. But in Canada, ignorance of the law is no excuse for not complying with it. If you truly want to do what is right in regards to your taxes, and you are not knowledgeable in this area then rely on experts that can help you.
For those that live in Toronto or the GTA you can easily utilize the services of a Toronto Accountant, like Sam Seidman. The rates that this accountant offers for tax and accounting services are reasonable, and you are going to have a lot less stress when getting your taxes done right. Having to deal with the tax department is not fun, and can have serious consequences to it. On the other hand as an honest tax payer there are many different approaches that you can take to find the right tax solution.
