Enforcement Notification - All downhill for former ski resort CFO convicted of evading more than $100,000 in taxes

CALGARY, AB, Nov. 14, 2024 /CNW/ - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that Derek Kwasney of Calgary, Alberta, was sentenced on November 12, 2024, in the Alberta Court of Justice, to 12 months in jail and was fined a total of $106,000. Kwasney pleaded guilty on September 26, 2024, to willfully evading payment of taxes by understating his taxable income on his T1 Individual Tax Returns.

A CRA investigation revealed that, as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Controller of the Lake Louise Ski Resort Area Ltd. (LLSR), Kwasney misappropriated funds from LLSR in 2015 and 2016 totaling over $350,000. Kwasney failed to report the misappropriated funds as part of his taxable income for the 2015 and 2016 taxation years, thereby evading more than $100,000 in federal income tax.

All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.

In addition to the court imposed fines and/or jail sentences, convicted taxpayers have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA. 

Tax evasion is a crime. Falsifying records and claims, wilfully not reporting income, or inflating expenses can lead to criminal charges, prosecution, court imposed fines, jail time, and a criminal record. For the five-year period from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2024, the courts convicted 135 taxpayers for evading the payment of more than 44 million dollars in federal tax combined. As of March 31, 2024, these convictions resulted in sentences totalling 25.1 million dollars in court fines and more than 108 years in jail.

The CRA is dedicated to maintaining the integrity of Canada's tax system, thereby contributing to the social and economic well-being of Canadians. The CRA continues to aggressively pursue tax evasion, and false claims with all the tools available to it. The CRA works to make sure that individuals and businesses report all income earned and only claim benefits to which they are entitled, so that important benefit programs can be administered to those who need them. Any individual or business who underreports income, or claims losses or benefits to which they are not entitled may have to repay the benefit amounts and may be subject to other possible action.

The CRA has set up a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current on the CRA's enforcement efforts.

Associated Links

Reporting suspected tax or benefit cheating in Canada
Voluntary Disclosures Program

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SOURCE Canada Revenue Agency