Do accountants ever get fined? ---------------------------------------------------------- david ingram replies: Not only do they get fined, they also go to jail. Jerome Schneider was an American based in Vancouver who went to jail in the US after being arrested by the IRS on a trip to San Francisco. He turned over 1,000 of his US clients over to the IRS. He had been telling them not to report the existence of offshore accounts which he was setting up for them - find out more about this at http://www.centa.com/CEN-TAPEDE/archive/Week-of-Mon-20051010/0020 95.html A newer one involves an accountant from Montreal. Prison sentence and $533,251 fine for income tax expert found guilty of tax fraud Montréal, Quebec, March 31, 2006 Christian Avard, an income tax expert operating under Le Pro de l’impôt, pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges before the Court of Quebec in Montréal on March 13. He was fined $533,251, which represents 100% of the tax evaded, and received a fixed 12-month prison sentence. A Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigation showed that for the tax years 1997 to 2002, Avard encouraged many of his clients to evade tax by sharing in tax refunds illegally obtained. Furthermore, without the knowledge of his clients, he claimed bloated tax refunds to which the taxpayers were not entitled, and had the refunds mailed to him so he could cash them. On another count, for the tax years 1997 to 2001, Avard failed to declare $307,008 of income from his delivery business, thus evading the payment of $68,742 in income tax with the help of nominees. On this count he was fined $68,742, which represents 100% of the tax evaded. Taxpayers found guilty of tax fraud must pay the full amount of taxes, all related interest, and any civil penalties that apply, as well as the fine imposed by the Court. “The vast majority of Canadians pay their taxes in full and on time. The Canada Revenue Agency has strong and effective programs to identify those who try to avoid paying what they owe,” said Michel Dorais, Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency. The information in this news release was obtained from the Court records. More information on convictions can be found in the Media room on the CRA Web site at: www.cra.gc.ca. -------------- David Ingram's US / Canada Services US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists US / Canada Real Estate Specialists My Home office is at: 4466 Prospect Road North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7 Cell (604) 657-8451 - (604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325 Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 10 PM 7 days a week Vancouver (LA) time - (please do not fax or phone outside of those hours as this is a home office) email to taxman at centa.com www.centa.com www.david-ingram.com Disclaimer: This question has been answered without detailed information or consultation and is to be regarded only as general comment. Nothing in this message is or should be construed as advice in any particular circumstances. No contract exists between the reader and the author and any and all non-contractual duties are expressly denied. All readers should obtain formal advice from a competent and appropriately qualified legal practitioner or tax specialist for expert help, assistance, preparation, or consultation in connection with personal or business affairs such as at www.centa.com. If you forward this message, this disclaimer must be included." Be ALERT, the world needs more "lerts" David Ingram gives expert income tax & immigration help to non-resident Americans & Canadians from New York to California to Saudi Arabia to Mexico to China or Chile - Cross border, dual citizen - out of country investments are all handled with competence & authority. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.centa.com/CEN-TAPEDE/centapede-ca/attachments/20060801/9d6f0787/attachment.htm
