Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Why Rich Tax Dodgers Should Be Named and Shamed



The Panama Papers' scandal has revealed a steaming mountain or pyramid of corruption.

Where the super rich live high off the hog, while countries deprived of tax dollars grow more and more miserable.

So I'm glad to see that the Liberal government is planning to step up efforts to go after our own tax cheats. 



The Canada Revenue Agency is stepping up efforts to combat tax evasion and avoidance in hopes of generating billions more in revenue, announcing Monday it’s increasing the number of audits of wealthy individuals and hiring more auditors to investigate high-risk multinational corporations.

And is also going to go after those who enable that massive scam.

Also, the agency is launching a program to stop organizations that create and promote tax schemes for the wealthy. The agency will target more than 200 promoters of these tax schemes, many of who are often auditors.

But although the move is encouraging, one really has to wonder whether any efforts to obtain tax justice will succeed until the guilty are treated like mobsters and terrorists.

And the whole rotten system that allows the rich to stash away their money in offshore tax havens is challenged.



Globalised capitalism has become an organised and legalised form of corruption, in which the work of the manager, the inventor and the entrepreneur come second to that of people whose wealth “works for them” – preferably in a jurisdiction nobody can see.

Before it's too late.

Last week, Costas Efimeros, the editor of a Greek investigative website, warned that the Panama revelations might be the “last chance” for leak-journalism. If a revelation does not provoke outrage, and the wrongdoers go unpunished, he wrote, “then the continuous revelation of scandals has the exact opposite result: defeatism, the feeling of weakness, the fatalistic acceptance of the rule of the powerful”.

And one thing is for sure. As the Star editorial board points out, there will be no justice until the guilty are named and shamed. 

If the Trudeau government is genuinely serious about clamping down, it should be prepared to name and shame miscreants with a lot more zeal than it has yet demonstrated. There’s nothing like shining the antiseptic light of day into murky corners, to discourage banks, law firms, accountancy firms and the like from enabling schemes that play fast and loose with the public treasury.

Because right now the Canada Revenue Agency and other agencies like Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) seem to have a double standard.

The small fish are cheerfully named and shamed, but the big fish are not.

Just last week FINTRAC, which tracks money laundering and terrorist financing among other things, announced it had levied a stiff $1.1-million penalty on a Canadian bank for failing to report a suspicious transaction and various money transfers. But it declined to name the institution involved. Meanwhile it is busy naming players who have been slapped with fines of $15,000 or less.

They can get amnesty like the millionaire clients of the accounting firm KPMG...



The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported that the group was required by CRA only to pay back the taxes they owed, plus interest. Yet the CRA routinely prosecutes and names people who fail to file tax returns or otherwise run afoul of the law.

While the CRA comes down on smaller offenders like a ton of bricks.

And it has to stop, before people lose confidence in the tax system.

If the government hopes to “give Canadians greater confidence that the tax system is fair to everyone,” its agencies should be prepared to publicly name offenders. Cutting deals to spare Ottawa the trouble of prosecuting, or to preserve the “good name” of financial institutions and their wealthy clients, isn’t going to reassure anyone other than the scofflaws themselves.

The guilty rich need to be named and shamed... 



Their pictures should be printed in the newspapers so all should know who they are.

The CRA should go after their enablers, the accountants and experts who help them shield their wealth. Stashing money in offshore tax havens should be made illegal.

And if the capitalist hogs, who in the name of greed would make the lives of the rest of us more miserable, still don't get it.

The full force of new and harsher laws should come down on them like a ton of bricks.

And they should be sent to the place they belong...



Please click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers. 

20 comments:

bcwaterboy said...

If the naming and shaming doesn't happen Simon, it will be a sign that this globalist mess we're in will not change for the better and unfortunately the sad truth is that once one loophole is closed another will open. I recall being audited 3 years in a row because I was attending post secondary education and happened to claim moving expenses for a job. I received a letter asking for a substantial amount of money back and the agent was not about to let up. Finally it settled out but the CRA was on the war path and determined to get me to give in, regardless if I followed all the rules or not, I'm sure with the intimidation tactics they use, many people just pay them. Watching the Panama Papers scandal indeed shows that there are much bigger fish to fry and really, the CRA is scared about what it might uncover if it really started digging.

Anonymous said...

Former Liberal PM Paul Martin parked the profits of his Canada Steamship Lines offshore. Do you really think the current Liberals will chase that?

Anonymous said...

"The small fish are cheerfully named and shamed, but the big fish are not."
Aint nothin' going to change there, Simon. "They" are in a special club of their own and will not tolerate being investigated or prosecuted. None of "them" will ever see justice of any real import. Some of the more well-to-do will be thrown to the masses as "proof" that the sunny days gubmint is getting "tough on white collar crime" but the heavyweights will never even get a scratch. Doesn't work that way....never did....never will.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree Simon but for that to happen the laws have to be changed that allows the filthy rich to plea bargain their way into an anonymous slap on the wrist due to their threats to tie up their cases in court for years.
One need only look back at the 2008 meltdown. Other than Bernie Madoff, did any of the corporate Honchoes get sent to prison? I don't think so.
JD

Anonymous said...

I just received a letter from CRA on a client who has NEVER, EVER had any employees, no HST and makes approx. $26,000 per year (self employed). The letter was from a "trust Accounts Examination Officer" and is asking for payroll journals and HST journals (obviously we have none of these things) and who said "We may take legal action without further notice if you do not respond to this request". And they are telling me when and where we are meeting. And we are meeting at a place where no bookkeeping records are held. I replied "sure". They can show up at the time and place they indicated on the letter. This is going to be fun. Maybe I should pack a picnic lunch for us both....can I write that off for tax purposes!!!!!! What a STUPID arm of the government we have with this CRA. No sharp tools in that shed!!!!!!!! FP

Anonymous said...

Penny Woolford, senior partner of tax at KPMG and the newly installed chair of the foundation, told the assembled guests at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre she had the "honour" of introducing Andrew Treusch of CRA.

"Thank you, Ms. Woolford, for that kind introduction," Treusch began, before giving a 19-minute speech about how hard the the CRA was working to combat "aggressive tax planning" — which he said is against the spirit of the law — and tax evasion, which is illegal. ENOUGH SAID!!!!!! MORALLY DEPLETED HOGS SLEEPING WITH OTHER MORALLY DEPLETED HOGS......WHILST THE CANADIAN TAXPAYER IS GETTING SCREWED WHILST NOT SMILING!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

NOT IN OUR LIFETIME SIMON
The Canada Revenue Agency is stepping up efforts to combat tax evasion and avoidance in hopes of generating billions more in revenue, announcing Monday it’s increasing the number of audits of wealthy individuals and hiring more auditors to investigate high-risk multinational corporations.

These so called "auditors" will become Trust Examination Officers and will spend their time bothering small business MAFIA style while the HOGS go free. This current government thus far as only provided lip service.....no real service!!!!!

And is also NOT going to go after those who enable that massive scam.

e.a.f. said...

naming and shaming isn't going to work. if these people had any "shame" they wouldn't be doing what they do. Some people have no shame. How can we shame them. My suggestion: file charges, arrest, and treat them like any other criminal. it won't "shame" them, but it will make them very uncomfortable. Many have never entertained the thought of going to jail for even an evening. having to go to jail, will be the best way of ensuring some stay away from this tax avoidance.

Nice law would be, you ripe off the government of Canada for .........whatever amount. the fines are this and this is the jail sentence, and yes there will be mandatory jail sentences. Like any other crime it gets to be covered by the press and bloggers and made public. None of this lets not name the bank.

White collar crime is never seen as damaging as other forms of crime, but really what is the difference between a "stick up artist" and a tax avoider, both are guilty, in my opinion of theft over $5K. Lets treat them the same. So no shaming, just naming, fining, and jail.

e.a.f. said...

if its "parked" legally there is nothing the CRA can do. Registering your company in another country isn't illegal. Immoral perhaps, but illegal, not so much. Now the Americans have rules about that and until we adopt similar rules, Paul Martin's actions are legal. And no I don't like the guy.

Simon said...

hi bcwaterboy...yes the way the CRA has behaved in the past, the way it goes after the little people while making deals with the rich is scandalous. And let's not forget the audits of people like birdwatchers. However, they were corrupted by the Con regime, they do have new marching orders. And most importantly they apparently also have new support from the Justice department so they can take the rich to court. Because that's one of the reasons or the excuses they used when making that deal with KPMG. So let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope that they can reel in some big fish...

Simon said...

hi anon...it's not the job of the Liberals to chase anyone, it's up to the CRA to do that. But they have given the more money, and new instructions so we'll just have to see. These cases are complicated and take time. Also as e.a.f. points out this offshore scam is in most cases legal, so we also need to join some kind of world movement to have them either made more transparent or work to make them illegal...

Simon said...

hi anon...well maybe you're right, and that's the way it has worked in the past. But a lot of people out there are very angry, they want justice, and any government would be foolish to ignore them...

Simon said...

hi JD...yes you are right too. The super rich have governments and an army of lawyers on their side. But as I said above, we live in a time of upheaval, and the capitalist system is going to have to toss some bodies off the top of the pyramid, like the Aztecs did, or face the anger of the masses. We need to keep the pressure on the Liberals to do the right thing...

Simon said...

hi anon...I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with the CRA. They really should save up their energy to go after the big tax dodgers. But the big fish have fancy lawyers, and the little people don't, and I think that's why the CRA acts the way it does. But as I pointed out in my post they're only hurting themselves. For the more they are perceived to be going after the wrong targets, they more they and the whole tax system will be discredited. And that's not good for anyone....

Simon said...

hi anon...yes I didn't have the time to get into the far too close relationship between some businesses and former CRA auditors, who are hired by those businesses so they can use their expertise to navigate the system to their advantage. And BTW I'm not smiling either. I just did my taxes, and although I thought I was going to get a refund, and had practically spent it already on a new and shiny drone, I ended up having to pay the government. So needless to say I'm even angrier at those tax dodgers ... ;)

Simon said...

hi anon...well let's see what happens, before we condemn the Liberals. They are making more of an effort to go after tax dodgers, that does take time. And if it is all hot air they will pay a political price...

Simon said...

hi e.a.f....what I mean by shaming is making sure they are named, and that any charges against them are publicized. For while many of them are scoundrels, shaming can work on many others, who hate bad publicity. But yes, it's time to treat white collar criminals like any others, and toughen up the laws against tax evasion...

Anonymous said...

It IS the job of the liberals. They set the policy. Let's see what they do.

Anonymous said...

Obviously you do not deal with CRA Simon. I respect you greatly but they ARE NOT even starting to make the effort. My crystal ball tells me that more and more small businesses will be subjected to harassment by CRA than any of their morally depleted Rich HOG friends and equally morally depleted corporations!!!!!!! Already starting to harass my clients who have filed and paid faithfully. Why must they start with the innocent first???? Too scared to go after the big Canons!!!! Just like addressing mental health issues....lip service only...... and sent "POLICE" into communities that cannot cope with life whilst the lying Liberals spend tax dollars entertaining the elitists. Still say VOTED FOR CHANGE......GOT THE SAME!!!!!!! The Liberals have not proved me wrong so far. Hope they do but not holding my breath. Blue does not look good on me!!!! ha ha

Anonymous said...

Now I am even more pissed. Simon you deserve your shiny new drone far more than Andrew Treusch of CRA deserves his unearned salary and other perks and pensions...... which probably ends up in Panama tax free at our expense. Enough to buy all middle class, hard working, overtaxed Canadians a shiny new drone!!!!!!!