From: AlanBaggett@volcanomail.com   
      
   Ludicrous Canada Revenue Agency Claims Cause Restaurant to Close : CRA SOTW   
      
   MacAllister's Restaurant In Cobourg Closes Over Fight With Canada Revenue   
   Agency   
   Contributed by admin on Sep 04, 2014 - 07:18 AM   
      
   To All members of staff of MacAllister's;   
      
   As most of you know who attended the staff meeting a few weeks ago, the   
   corporation and directors that own MacAllister's Restaurant have been   
   presented with demands and allegations by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that   
   are completely outrageous and    
   unacceptable to the ongoing viability of the Restaurant.   
      
   CRA are the Federal Government Agency responsible for the administration of   
   the harmonized sales tax (HST) which was created in Ontario in 2010 from an   
   amalgamation of the Provincial Sales Tax and Federal Goods and Services Tax   
   which were 8% and 5%    
   respectively.   
      
   The Ontario portion of the sales tax is therefore the largest component but   
   the Provincial Government entrusted the CRA with the administration of the   
   combines taxes. This was obviously a mistake as the CRA have turned out to be   
   a heavy-handed malicious    
   organization that uses its authority improperly and obviously abuses the   
   powers given to them by the Federal Government.   
      
   At the staff meeting, we advised you that MacAllister's and her sister   
   restaurants had been confronted with staggering allegations that the companies   
   were "under reporting sales" based on some wild theories that the businesses   
   were selling far more food    
   than our records had indicated in our H.S.T. returns to the Government.   
   Essentially CRA said the companies were committing a fraud against the   
   Government. This is an outrageous lie and based on a completely irrelevant   
   theory that for every dollar of    
   alcohol that this and our other restaurants are selling have, $3.48 dollars of   
   food which was going unrecorded. In simple terms, for every alcohol beverage   
   costing $10.00 the federal government is alleging that we are selling i.e.   
   $34.80 of food. Every    
   member of staff must realize this is completely untrue.   
      
   Essentially, CRA is alleging that MacAllister's owners are buying food and   
   products, from outside sources in addition to our normal suppliers.   
   Theoretically, the kitchen staff are then processing these purchases and with   
   the collusion of the wait staff,    
   the food is being sold to customers. The cash is presumably handed over (by   
   either the floor staff or the management) to the company's owners without any   
   questions.   
   These allegations suggest that the company is stealing approximately $1,500 ON   
   A DAILY BASIS of sales which amounts to roughly $550,000 in the year ending   
   2012. This is bogus.   
   CRA has invited us to prove them wrong but they know that this is an   
   impossibility. It is impossible to prove a negative.   
      
   Every member of staff knows the facts staff and customers have certainly never   
   seen an owner of MacAllister's bring in massive amounts of food (over $5,000 a   
   week) and then remove the cash proceeds of about $12,000 a week from the   
   premises.   
      
   The CRA allegation is without foundation and completely false.   
      
   CRA are accusing the restaurant owners of being tax cheats on this restaurant   
   alone by un-reporting sales of up to December 31, 2012 of $583,047.22.   
      
   This furthermore presupposes by now, at the beginning of September 2014, we   
   have stolen almost another $1,000,000 through unreported food sales.   
      
   All told, at this restaurant alone CRA are alleging that MacAllister's owners   
   have stolen $1,500,000 in cash which never existed and we are amazed that CRA   
   can believe their own fantasies. The working papers and CRA letter are   
   attached.   
      
   CRA have arrived at this staggering conclusion by applying some unqualified   
   "industry standard" which has a ratio of 1:3.48 alcohol to food sales. If   
   applied to every restaurant in Ontario this means that the Restaurant Industry   
   throughout the Province    
   is about to be closed down. We cannot imagine many restaurants in Cobourg meet   
   this ratio from the Oasis to East Side Mario's to Casey's to Boston Pizza. But   
   all staff know that this is not true of MacAllister's.   
      
   Nevertheless, the CRA are so Powerful that it can make these allegations and   
   owners are impotent to dispute their theories.   
      
   How can we prove that we did not go and purchase food and sell it as they   
   suggest.   
      
   It did not happen but we cannot prove that. CRA must be well aware that these   
   allegations of criminal activity are absurd. In fact, CRA are, in our opinion,   
   harassing the owners of MacAllister's which, in itself, is a criminal offence.   
      
   However, each day, MacAllister's stays open, in its current business format,   
   the Government is alleging that roughly $1,500 is being stolen by the owners   
   which amounts to $10,500 a week. Therefore, the alleged crime of tax evasion   
   (unpaid HST) on these    
   massive amounts increases by $1,400 weekly plus penalties which CRA are   
   proposing to apply. By using these formulas CRA are effectively accusing   
   MacAllister's of owing over $200,000 of unpaid HST over a three year period   
   which is ABSOLUTELY FALSE.   
      
   Ten months ago CRA officials descended on our bookkeeper in Lindsay and took   
   away 41 cases of documents which they retained for three months. They did this   
   without Court Order or consent of the owners.   
   With these records and computerized accounting software they have had full   
   access to MacAllister's records. They have examined every bill, every customer   
   guest check and every print out from the restaurant's computer system and they   
   are in full knowledge    
   of the facts and yet they are making these baseless allegations.   
      
   Even the seizing of these records by CRA without a Court order was in itself,   
   a crime for which CRA need to be made accountable.   
      
   CRA seem to operate outside the law.   
      
   An assault of this nature by a Federal Government Agency should not be   
   tolerated in the Province of Ontario nor the Country of Canada as a whole. CRA   
   have wide ranging powers given to them by Parliament which need to be   
   restrained. The owners of    
   MacAllister's are not capable of withstanding this assault on their own and   
   are encouraging members of staff to speak to their MP Mr. Rick Norlock and the   
   MPP Mr. Lou Rinaldi as collectively their voices may be heard.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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