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The Canadian government has revealed that it was the victim of a multimillion-dollar swindle known as a “carousel scheme” that is based on fraudulent sales tax refunds. The Canada Revenue Agency has identified $52-million in fraudulent requests for sales tax refunds and rebates over a five-year period. According to the CRA, 11 people based in Britain orchestrated the “tax fraud and money laundering scheme.”
The CRA launched a crackdown on Tuesday, conducting a series of raids in three locations in Canada and six others in Britain. Dozens of corporations were allegedly created in both countries to perpetrate the fraud. |
The CRA has convicted 508 taxpayers of tax evasion between 2011 and 2016, resulting in $40-million in fines and 244 years in jail sentences. The 2016 federal budget included $444.4-million over five years to help the agency crack down on wealthy tax cheats.