When the CRA’s bullying came back to bite it: Offshore tax audit results in $5 million in damages
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was accused of being overly aggressive in it’s audit and assessment methods of SLT, but the agency itself had to pay up after an off shore audit went wrong and the taxpayers involved sued for damages. Shareholders of a company called SLT were relentlessly assessed over a period of several years only to have the CRA back off when the agency realized the assessments would not lead anywhere. The taxpayers sued and were awarded close to five million for lost interest and legal fees.
“The CRA’s conduct in this matter is troubling. More troubling are the facts that ordinary Canadians without deep pockets are often at the mercy of the CRA and that, had the case been governed by the laws of any other province or territory instead of Quebec civil law, the taxpayers might not have prevailed.”