BC woman gets 4.5 years in jail for teaching people how to evade taxes
A BC woman who evaded taxes, failed to report thousands of dollars in income, and instructed others on how to do the same, has now been handed a 4.5-year jail sentence and over $35,000 in fines for her actions.
Chilliwack resident Debbie Arlene Anderson was sentenced this week, after a CRA investigation found she failed to report a total income of $165,731.45 for the 2005 to 2007 tax years and, as a result, evaded $22,689.90 in federal tax.
In addition, Anderson failed to collect and remit $12,336.81 in GST for the same period.
The CRA said Anderson was also an “educator” with the Paradigm Education Group, which was “a fraudulent scheme that counselled people across Canada to evade taxes.”
Paradigm sold products (books, DVDs, and CDs), organized and taught fee-based seminars, which “educated” people on how to structure their affairs in a way to illegally avoid taxes.
In the wake of Anderson’s sentence, the CRA is warning Canadians to beware of “tax protesters who try to convince you that Canadians do not have to pay tax on the income they earn.”
Canadian courts have “repeatedly and consistently” rejected arguments made in these tax protester schemes, the CRA said.
For those involved in “tax protester” schemes, the CRA will reassess income tax, interest, and charge penalties.
In addition, if convicted of tax evasion, the court may fine them up to 200% of the tax evaded and face up to five years in jail.
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