Ottawa, Ontario, May 8, 2013… The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), today announced new measures to combat international tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance, including a $30-million investment by the Harper Government and the creation of a dedicated team to implement measures from Economic Action Plan 2013.
Through these actions, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will have an unprecedented ability to address these serious problems.
“Those who don’t pay their taxes by hiding money overseas place an unfair burden on law-abiding, hardworking Canadians,” said Minister Shea. “Our Government has long recognized that international tax evasion is a serious issue, and we are dedicated to cracking down on those who attempt to cheat the system.”
The Harper Government’s efforts to enhance the integrity of the tax system include a $30-million investment over five years for the CRA to target international tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. This includes:
- New resources of $15 million through Economic Action Plan 2013 to establish the necessary systems for the CRA to receive reports from banks and other financial intermediaries on international electronic funds transfers of $10,000 or more; and
- An additional $15 million in reallocated CRA funds that will be used to bring in new audit and compliance resources dedicated exclusively to international compliance issues and revenue collection identified as a result of measures outlined in Economic Action Plan 2013.
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