Prosecution of tax cheats takes too long, says a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) report. Auditors warned the Agency runs a risk of seeing scofflaws beat criminal charges due to lengthy delays..“Cases rarely go to trial within 18 months,” said the internal audit Criminal Investigations Program. “From fiscal year 2018–2019 to today, more than half the cases spent over 30 months in the court stage.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, auditors noted the Supreme Court of Canada in a 2016 decision, R. versus Jordan set a 30-month deadline on criminal prosecutions in Federal Court and 18 months in provincial courts. Time is marked from the date charges are laid..The decision came in the case of a Surrey, BC, man who waited four years for trial on drug trafficking charges. The case was dismissed. “Timely justice is one of the hallmarks of a free and democratic society,” wrote the Court..The CRA cited the Jordan ruling by name..“Although the criminal investigations directorate has little influence on the duration of the court stage, any delays caused by the Crown that exceeds these time frames could lead to a violation of the accused’s Charter rights,” said the report..The Agency said even routine audits may take years before they are referred to prosecutors. “The national standards for completing case stages are two months for the workload stage, 16 months for the investigation stage and between 18 and 30 months for the court stage depending on the court,” said Criminal Investigations. The audit found only 53 percent of investigations were completed within the targeted 16 months..“Maintaining fairness in Canada’s tax and benefit administration and strengthening trust, transparency, and accountability are two of the Agency’s priorities,” wrote auditors. “To maintain confidence in the integrity of Canada’s self-assessment tax system and deter others from failing to comply with tax laws, the Agency needs to address tax evasion.”.“Where appropriate the criminal investigations directorate refers cases to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada for possible criminal prosecution,” said the report..“Convicted tax evaders could face court-imposed fines, jail time and publicity of their conviction in addition to having to pay the taxes they tried to evade plus interest and penalties.”.The House of Commons in 2019 by a vote of 150 to 134 rejected a Senate bill proposing the yearly publication of the names of convicted tax cheats. Bill S-243 An Act To Amend The Canada Revenue Agency also proposed regular reporting on the “tax gap,” the estimated value of taxes legally owed but never collected..“Are we losing $3 billion to overseas tax evasion or $30 billion?” Senator Percy Downe (PEI), sponsor of the bill, said in a 2015 debate on the measure. “I don’t know, you don’t know and more importantly, the government doesn’t know.” Canadians should “see how many or how few of their fellow citizens are being called out for not paying their fair share,” said Downe.
