Ontario’s Penalties for Business Tax Evasion Are Steep

Accounting firms in Toronto and the rest of Ontario cringe when they read things like this. Earlier this month, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced a jury found a Toronto man guilty of four counts of evading personal income taxes and four counts of failing to remit the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Najam Mahmood of Mississauga was sentenced, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brampton, to one year in jail and a fine of $687,000 for having evaded federal income taxes of $475,000.

But recent fines for shady accounting aren’t limited to Toronto. The officer/ director of Tricom Marketing Services Inc., 2050626 Ontario Limited, Telad Marketing Services Inc. and 1220163 Ontario Inc. pleaded guilty to 22 counts of failing to file corporate returns for various years from 2004 to 2010.

Gary R. Campbell, of Hilton Beach, Ontario was fined $1,000 per count for a total of $26,000. The judge also issued a compliance order, which states that Campbell must file the outstanding corporate tax returns by August 22, 2013 and his personal tax returns by September 23, 2013.

In a press release announcing Campbell’s sentence, the CRA stated that:

“When individuals or corporations are convicted of failing to file tax returns, in addition to any fines imposed by the courts, they are still obligated to file the tax return and pay the full amount of taxes owing, plus interest, as well as any civil penalties that may be assessed by the CRA.”

It pays to have a trusted professional take care of your business’ financial standing. If you have any questions about what our accounting firm can do for you, please don’t hesitate to contact our Toronto office.