Constructions Louisbourg and Simard-Beaudry Construction guilty: fined over
$4 million

MONTREAL, Dec. 7 /CNW Telbec/ - Constructions Louisbourg Ltd. and Simard-Beaudry Construction Inc., two Laval construction companies, pleaded guilty today to tax evasion charges at the Laval courthouse. They were fined $3,346,959 and $783,269 respectively, which represents 100% of the federal income tax they tried to evade. In addition to the fines imposed by the Court, the companies will have to pay the full amount of taxes owing, plus related interest and any penalties that apply.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigation launched in 2009 revealed that, for tax years 2003 to 2008, Constructions Louisbourg Ltd. claimed a total of $15,334,174 in non-deductible expenses and made false entries to its accounting records to hide the real nature of certain expenses. The investigation also revealed that, for tax years 2005 to 2008, Simard-Beaudry Construction Inc. wilfully contravened the Income Tax Act by deducting $3,575,335 of fictitious expenses from false invoices.

False invoicing is a scheme through which individuals or companies obtain invoices from generally inactive companies for fictitious work. The invoices are then used to fraudulently reduce the companies' or individuals' revenues. The resulting tax savings are shared by the scheme's participants to use as off-the-books salaries or for personal gain.

The Canada Revenue Agency pursues tax evaders to maintain public confidence in the integrity of the tax system.

Individuals who have not filed returns for previous years, or who have not reported all of their income, can still voluntarily correct their tax affairs. They will not be penalized or prosecuted if they make a valid disclosure before they become aware of any compliance action being initiated by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) against them. These individuals may only have to pay the taxes owing, plus interest. More information on the Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) can be found on the CRA's website at www.cra.gc.ca/voluntarydisclosures.

The information in this news release was obtained from the court records.

More information on convictions can be found on the Media page of the CRA Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/convictions.

For further information:

For media information:
Kareen Dionne
Regional Spokesperson
Telephone: [phone], ext. 8288
Toll-free: 1-800-292-3430, ext. 8288