As a result of the Panama Papers leak, federal auditors have managed to recoup approximately $78 million in unpaid taxes.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) stated they are currently conducting multiple audits and have two criminal investigations still ongoing.“We have completed 285 audits and we have reassessed the taxpayers for $77.5 million in taxes owing,” Cathy Hawara, assistant revenue commissioner, testified at the Senate National Finance committee. “We have 143 audits still underway.”Audits followed the 2016 leak of some 11 million files on offshore account holders from the Panama office of a global law firm, Mossack Fonseca, to a German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. The CRA at the time sought Federal Court orders compelling Canadian bankers to disclose accounts of depositors named in the Panama Papers.Cabinet had previously told Parliament they audited around 2,600 files related to Canadians in connection to the Panama Papers. However, Assistant Commissioner Hawara revealed the actual number was closer to 900.“In terms of criminal investigations, there are two that are still underway with respect to the Panama Papers,” said Hawara.Eric Ferron, director general of CRA criminal investigations, stated thorough investigations revealed that approximately two-thirds of the clients mentioned in the Panama Papers had followed Canada's tax laws.“If we use, for example, the Panama Papers, we have looked at the names in there and we were able to see that 65% of the people in there had already done what was expected of them,” said Ferron.“That was done by checking and making sure everybody was on side. Afterwards, there was the civil side and they were able to resolve many of the outstanding issues. Only a few cases end up with a criminal investigation, the worst ones, I guess, the biggest ones. It is always a gradual enforcement approach that we take.”Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux informed the Senate committee that situations such as the Panama Papers contributed to the public's lack of trust in the fairness of Canada's tax system.“I think the issue of perception is very important when we have a system like ours that relies for the most part on self-assessment,” said Giroux.“For the average citizen, it is very difficult to evade taxes because if you forget a T5 slip or a T3 slip, the Canada Revenue Agency can very easily identify that you forgot it,” said Giroux. “There is a perception that average citizens, normal people, get caught quickly, and those with the means to evade taxes don’t get prosecuted.”“I think that may be right or that may be wrong,” said Giroux. “I think it is probably overblown, that perception, but it is very important for the Agency to be perceived as aggressively pursuing tax evaders to maintain the trust in the tax system.”
