Why hire a taxation, GST and QST lawyer?
There are many criminal lawyers out there; however, very few lawyers on the market have acquired experience in criminal and tax law, whether as prosecutors or defence lawyers. You could consider hiring a former prosecutor who have worked for Revenu Québec for instance. This is a major asset. It is important to understand that even in criminal law, the main tax fraud cases are taxation issues as well as criminal issues. This is why it is important to have a multidisciplinary approach when developing a defence. A lawyer can reset the balance in your favour in criminal tax law, by casting doubt on your liability, as well as the supposedly avoided sums of money or their taxable status.
Income tax act and taxation offences
The Canadian Income Tax Act, the Quebec Taxation Act, an Act respecting the ministère du Revenu and other tax acts provide sentences and fines for those who infringe on their provisions.
There are many criminal offences provided by these laws. For instance the Tax Administration Act provides sentences for omitting to provide a tax report, falsifying documents or using various means of tax evasion.
The Tobacco Tax Act also provides strict penalties for smuggling tobacco. The sentences provided by this act apply to possession of tobacco for trafficking purposes acordinng to the avoided tax. Section 13.1 of this law provides fines of up to four times the avoided taxation. The law also criminalizes being a carrier of tobacco in Section 6 f) or transporting raw tobacco without a manifest or way-bill in Section 7.9 of the act, storing tobacco in Section 6 d), storing cases of tobacco that are not identified in Section 17.10 and so on. Accumulation of these fines can easily amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As for the Tax Administration Act, it lays strict criminal sanctions on offending restaurants and bars. There are fines beginning at $ 2,000 for not entering a bill in the SRM (sales recording module) and of up to $ 6,000 for repeat offences. There are also other types of fines for not giving a customer a bill or if the bill does not comply with regulations.
The fines are strict, and penalties may include prison terms.
Tax/GST/QST lawyers defending a client charged by Revenu Québec or Revenue Canada shall assess various possible defences according to their clients’ version of the facts, including reasonable diligence. Negotiating with the Prosecutor is also a significant aspect of their work.