From: canada.revenueagency@yahoo.com   
      
   Canada Revenue Agency sets up internal snitch line:CRA SOTW   
      
   Tax agency wants to know if any of its own are up to no good.   
      
   The Canadian Press   
   September 16, 2014   
       
       
   Taxman wants to catch its own bad apples by TheCanadianPress   
      
      
   OTTAWA -- The taxman wants to know if any of his own are up to no good.   
      
   That's why the Canada Revenue Agency is in the process of setting up a   
   self-snitch line.   
      
   The so-called internal fraud and misuse reporting lines would give agency   
   staff a way to confidentially report any concerns about their colleagues.   
      
   "Internal fraud and integrity lapses pose a serious threat to the   
   organization's objectives and reputation and to the morale, productivity and   
   well-being of its employees," the agency says in a new contract document.   
      
   "To mitigate the threat, it is vital that the CRA takes all reasonable   
   measures to safeguard the assets, resources, information and reputation of the   
   organization from fraudulent activity and inappropriate conduct by its   
   employees."   
      
   Three Canada Revenue Agency employees were among seven people caught up in a   
   sweep by the Mounties earlier this year.   
      
   Charges laid include bribery of public officers, conspiracy, fraud, breach of   
   trust by a public officer and fraud against the government.   
   Since 2008, 15 people -- including eight former Canada Revenue Agency   
   officials -- have been arrested as part of an investigation called Project   
   Coche.   
      
   Back in 2010, The Canadian Press obtained internal reports showing the agency   
   had trouble with employees who wasted their work days surfing the Internet,   
   setting up sports pools, sending chain letters, promoting illegal substances,   
   sharing offensive    
   cartoons and running pyramid schemes.   
      
   But some staff may be wary about bringing their concerns to a supervisor, the   
   agency says.   
      
   Others may fear their covers could be blown. There's no guarantee of anonymity   
   under either the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act. That means any   
   information gathered over the course of an investigation into wrongdoing is   
   accessible --    
   although personal information would most likely be blanked out in any   
   documents released under those laws.   
      
   "While the CRA holds its 40,000 employees in the highest regard, the agency   
   must be prepared to address rare instances of misconduct so that we can   
   preserve the integrity of the tax system and remain accountable to the ethics   
   and values that form the    
   heart of our mandate," agency spokesman Philippe Brideau wrote in an email.   
      
   Employees will have the option of calling a toll-free hotline, sending letters   
   through the mail or lodging their concerns through a website, he added.   
      
   Tipsters won't get any special rewards for turning in their colleagues.   
      
   "This system is integrity-based rather than rewards-based, and is currently   
   scheduled for implementation by March 2015," Brideau wrote.   
   This isn't the first time the agency has set up a snitch line.   
      
   A hotline to try to catch people who may be hiding money offshore has been up   
   and running since January.   
      
   The Offshore Tax Informant Program offers tipsters a cash reward of up to 15   
   per cent if the agency collects more than $100,000 in taxes owed. The   
   downside? The reward money must be claimed on the tipster's income tax.   
      
   There's also a third snitch line that's focused on domestic tax fraud and pays   
   no rewards.   
      
      
   ----------------------------------------------------------   
   Miss a Tax Tale Miss a lot!   
   Visit the CRA SOTW Library at http://canada.revenue.agency.angelfire.com   
      
   ------------------------------------------------------------   
   Alan Baggett - http://www.taxcollectorsbible.com/ - Tax Collector's Bible   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)