QUÉBEC CITY, July 4, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Poissons Frais des Îles Inc., an Îles-de-la-Madeleine company that specializes in lobster retail, pleaded guilty today to tax evasion charges before the Court of Quebec in Québec City. The company was fined $140,083, which represents 50% of the federal tax it tried to evade. In addition to this fine, Poissons Frais des Îles Inc. will have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any administrative penalties that apply.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigation revealed that, for the 2006 to 2008 tax years, Poissons Frais des Îles Inc. used a scheme to avoid paying its income tax by failing to declare part of its sales to wholesalers or processing plants.
The scheme consisted in hiding part of the sales, for a total of $1,851,700, by making cash sales through an intermediary who sold the shipments and then remitted in cash the proceeds of the sales.
This information was obtained from the Court records.
The overwhelming majority of Canadians pay their taxes in full and on time. In fairness to them, the CRA makes sure that people who try to avoid paying taxes are held to account.
Taxpayers 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 may not be penalized or prosecuted if they make a valid disclosure before they become aware of any compliance action being taken by the CRA against them. These taxpayers may only have to pay the taxes owing, plus interest. More information on the Voluntary Disclosures Program can be found at www.cra.gc.ca/voluntarydisclosures.
Additional information on convictions can be found on the Media page of the CRA Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/convictions.
SOURCE: Canada Revenue Agency
Serge Paradis
Regional Spokesperson
Telephone: 514-283-2957
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