{"id":1737,"date":"2017-06-08T00:31:26","date_gmt":"2017-06-08T00:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thor.ca\/blog\/?p=1737"},"modified":"2017-08-30T04:01:44","modified_gmt":"2017-08-30T04:01:44","slug":"recent-news-from-the-cra-no-appeal-against-the-bp-canada-decision-from-the-federal-court-of-appeal-and-more-enforcement-against-aggressive-tax-avoidance-and-evasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thor.ca\/blog\/2017\/06\/recent-news-from-the-cra-no-appeal-against-the-bp-canada-decision-from-the-federal-court-of-appeal-and-more-enforcement-against-aggressive-tax-avoidance-and-evasion\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent News From the CRA: No Appeal Against the BP Canada Decision From the Federal Court of Appeal and More Enforcement Against Aggressive Tax Avoidance and Evasion"},"content":{"rendered":"

I last wrote about the decision in BP Canada Energy Company v. Canada (National Revenue)<\/em>, 2017 FCA 61 on April 10, 2017<\/a>.\u00a0 In that decision the Court imposed important restrictions upon the use of the s.231.1(1) audit powers by the CRA.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued May 31, 2017, the CRA announced that it would not seek leave to the Supreme Court of Canada to appeal that decision. According to the statement:<\/p>\n

Rather than appealing the Federal Court of Appeal\u2019s decision, the CRA is addressing the issue on a broader scale by undertaking to update its audit procedures to clarify when and why information is to be requested from taxpayers. This will give the CRA better, and more clear procedures to access information. The CRA has also struck an interdepartmental Access Working Group mandated to support CRA\u2019s ability to request information and to coordinate related litigation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is difficult to obtain leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada and, if leave is granted, the outcome of an appeal is itself uncertain. On these grounds alone, the decision to not seek leave to appeal, and to \u201cupdate\u201d audit procedures instead, is understandable. However, it is also possible that this decision reflects an acknowledgement by the CRA that the case was correctly decided.<\/p>\n

Either way, taxpayers and their representatives should not conclude from this that the CRA has given up.\u00a0 The same statement indicates that the Access Working Group will \u201cfocus its attention on CRA information requirements, including information required as part of a taxpayer\u2019s routine tax filing, as well as information sought by the CRA in activities related to the administration and enforcement of the legislation\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

The statement concludes by making the focus of the Access Working Group perfectly clear: \u201c\u2026more can be done to find those who aggressively avoid or evade tax\u201d and the close to $1 billion investment that the government has made \u201cenhances the CRA\u2019s continued efforts to crack down on tax evasion and combat tax avoidance\u201d.<\/p>\n

This focus of the CRA was further reinforced by the News Release, entitled \u201cMinister Lebouthillier Updates Canadians the Government\u2019s Progress to Crack Down on Tax Cheats\u201d which was issued the following day (June 1, 2017). \u00a0In the News Release, the Minister states:<\/p>\n

[T]oo many corporations and wealthy individuals are trying to find ways to not pay what they owe. This is why the Government of Canada has committed important resources to crack down on tax cheats, both at home and abroad.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To achieve this, the CRA is taking a number of steps that include:<\/p>\n