Bruce Brigham, of Emo, Ont., pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice in Fort Frances yesterday to tax evasion.
He was fined $20,863, which represents 125 percent of the total federal income taxes and the Goods and Services Taxes (GST) he evaded.
Brigham, who operates B & B Electric as a sole proprietorship in Emo, understated his business income by $56,063 in 2000 and $47,972 in 2001 on his personal income tax returns and annual GST returns.
In understating his income, Brigham attempted to evade a total of $16,691 in federal taxes and $3,800 in GST.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigation revealed Brigham deposited business income into a business bank account, and also was responsible for providing the bookkeeper with the purchase and sales invoices to complete the necessary tax returns.
Brigham, however, failed to provide his bookkeeper with the business banking records for B & B Electric and the sales invoices related to the unreported business income for 2000 and 2001, thereby decreasing the amount of tax payable in each year.
Brigham has since paid 2000 and 2001 civil reassessments totalling $92,913.
The civil reassessments are in addition to the court fine of $20,863, and include federal and provincial taxes, GST, as well as interest and penalties.
The fine of $20,863 must be paid within 90 days.
When individuals or corporations are convicted of tax evasion, they have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus interest, and any penalties the CRA assesses.
In cases of gross negligence, the Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act allow the CRA to assess a penalty of up to 50 percent of the unpaid tax or the improperly claimed benefit.
In addition, the court may, on summary conviction, fine them 50-200 percent of the tax evaded—and sentence them to a jail term of up to two years.
The information in this news release was obtained from the court records.
Further information on convictions also can be found in the Media Room on the CRA website at wwwcra-arc.gc.ca/convictions
Fort Frances Times
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