Math test

The Trudeau government deserves credit for ending the targeted assaults by the previous Harper government on public interest charities. In 2016, it also committed to reinvesting $444.4 million over the next 5 years in staff and structure at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) specifically to “crack down on tax evasion and combat tax avoidance.” A further $529.9 million was added in 2017. These measures will go a long way to restoring public faith in the fairness and integrity of our tax system, ensuring federal programs are provided much-needed revenue, and that our members are well supported in serving these goals. But sustaining these promised reinvestments over the coming years and ensuring they address our longstanding concerns about tax fairness requires constant vigilance and encouragement by all Canadians, especially our members. Doing so will ensure:

• investments in investigation and enforcement more than pay for themselves in increased public revenues, and
• restoration of public trust in the fair and impartial application of Canadian tax laws.

Key Facts

• PIPSC represents approximately 12,000 auditors, audit managers, forensic accountants, economists, statisticians, actuaries, finance officers, commerce officers and other professionals employed by the CRA.
• While the precise amount is currently unknown, it is estimated that Canada and Canadians are owed billions of dollars in unpaid federal taxes.
• Canadians for Tax Fairness currently estimates the revenue lost from tax havens alone to be $7.8 billion, and that close to $199 billion of corporate Canadian money now sits in tax havens. ¹
• The previous Harper government announced cuts to the CRA that, between 2012 and 2017, were calculated to result in the loss of over 4,000 positions and nearly $1 billion from its annual budget. ²
• These cuts have hindered the Agency’s ability to properly investigate and reclaim lost revenue from tax avoiders. Over 600 PIPSC positions were affected, resulting in significant lost capacity to units such as Criminal Investigations, Special Enforcement, Offshore Tax Evasion and Aggressive Tax Planning.
• Compounding this damage are questionable policy decisions and misguided restructuring efforts by the Harper government that continue to hamper efforts at ensuring all Canadians – and especially the wealthiest – pay their fair share of taxes.
• A 2013 report prepared for Revenue Canada by Walker Consulting Group, and based on focus group interviews with Canadian tax accountants, raised “‘significant questions about the integrity of the tax system,’ and how little effort the agency seemingly puts in to chasing wealthy tax cheats, versus the resources it puts towards ‘smaller players who claim a few too many dollars in charitable donations.’” ³
• The finance department’s numbers show a ten-dollar return for every dollar invested in combating international tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. ⁴