Sherbrooke construction contractor and his spouse convicted of tax evasion

SHERBROOKE, QC, Jan. 28, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Denis Beauregard, a Sherbrooke construction contractor, and his spouse Myriam Prévost-Beauregard, pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges yesterday before the Court of Quebec in Sherbrooke. Mr. Beauregard was fined $155,557, which represents 100% of the federal tax he tried to evade. In addition to this fine, he will have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties that apply. For her part, Ms. Prévost-Beauregard was fined $77,778, which represents 50% of the federal tax she enabled her spouse to evade.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigation revealed that, for the 2004 to 2009 tax years, Mr. Beauregard voluntarily contravened the Income Tax Act by failing to report a total of $770,854 in business income from his company, Beauregard Construction. In order to achieve this, Ms. Prévost-Beauregard, who did the bookkeeping for the business, falsified the books and records, which enabled her spouse to avoid paying $155,557 in income tax. The investigation also revealed that two sets of books were used to record sales.

The above 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 on the CRA Web site 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

For media information:
Julie Pronovost
Regional Spokesperson
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