Still, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's plan sent mixed signals to the Canada Revenue Agency: It will get $13-million annually to track international financial transfers and pursue fraudsters scamming its R&D tax credit program, but it is also the target of fresh cuts, taking a hit of $60-million annually on top of previous cutbacks.Īnd while the CRA is getting sharper teeth, its new-found authority will be limited. Last week's budget was no exception – its fiscal outlook relies on raking in billions by closing loopholes and pursuing cheats more aggressively. The Harper government has sought to boost revenues without raising taxes since 2006, introducing dozens of tax-fairness measures expected to bring in more than $2-billion by 2015. Adebukunola and his clients, millions of Canadians filing returns next month will shoulder an unfair tax burden and suffer from fewer dollars flowing into federally funded programs and social services.
The case represents a tiny fraction of the revenue lost to false receipting, but it offers a fresh glimpse into a fraudulent enterprise that has cost Ottawa hundreds of millions of dollars over a decade. His crime was this: As a tax preparer from 2005 to 2010, Adegboyega Adenekanad Adebukunola filed $858,897 in fake donations on 129 returns, reducing his clients' tax bill by a total of $245,602. It is a simple scheme that netted a Brampton, Ont., man's clients thousands of dollars, all on the backs of law-abiding Canadians.