e193dc40   
   XPost: misc.taxes, can.politics   
   From: sharx35@hotmail.com   
      
   "Alan Baggett"  wrote in message   
   news:d050cafe-f1a8-41c8-9bc8-4b2583232d25@f8g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...   
   > Tax officials find bonanza of offshore income   
   >   
   > $600-million uncovered as the number of voluntary disclosures soar due   
   > to what one tax lawyer calls government scare tactics   
   >   
   >   
   > by Greg McArthur   
   > From Friday's Globe and Mail   
   > Published on Thursday, Mar. 18, 2010 11:53PM EDT   
   > Last updated on Friday, Mar. 19, 2010 9:50AM EDT   
   >   
   >   
   > Crunch time for tax filers is still weeks away, but Canada Revenue   
   > Agency can already boast that it has unearthed six times more offshore   
   > income, $600-million, this year than last thanks to a wave of   
   > international whistleblowers and the agency's willingness to piggyback   
   > on a beefed-up campaign in the United States.   
   >   
   > With the end of the fiscal year only a month away, the agency has   
   > announced that it has received 3,600 voluntary disclosures – the   
   > amnesty program that allows taxpayers to report hidden wealth to avoid   
   > prosecution – that detail offshore holdings. In the previous fiscal   
   > year, there were about 1,900 such disclosures, revealing less than   
   > $100-million.   
   >   
   > “The government has been doing a good job of scaring people. There's a   
   > fear factor – people want to be able to sleep at night,” said Robert   
   > Kepes, a Toronto tax lawyer, who explained that he would never have   
   > predicted the number of clients who have inquired this year about how   
   > to file disclosures.   
   >   
   > And the total amount already uncovered through the program will likely   
   > increase considerably, CRA has said. Federal auditors still have about   
   > 800 disclosures to sift through, and approve or disapprove, before the   
   > final tally is in.   
   >   
   >   
   > “ The government has been doing a good job of scaring people. There's   
   > a fear factor – people want to be able to sleep at night. ”   
   > — Toronto tax lawyer Robert Kepes   
   >   
   >   
   > The steep spike in disclosures also comes amid new headlines in   
   > Europe, where yet another bank insider – an IT employee with a Swiss   
   > office of HSBC – has reportedly handed over to the French authorities   
   > information on 24,000 accounts. Back in January, when rumblings of the   
   > HSBC data theft were percolating but the actual number of accounts was   
   > still a mystery, the then Minister of Revenue, Jean-Pierre Blackburn,   
   > announced that France had agreed to hand over information on Canadians   
   > buried in the list. CRA has since confirmed that there are Canadians   
   > on the list, but has refused to disclose how many or if any audits   
   > have been launched.   
   >   
   > In the past year, European countries with strict banking secrecy laws   
   > and low tax rates have suffered repeated blows because of employees   
   > stealing internal records and offering them up to other governments   
   > facing large deficits. The European principality of Liechtenstein,   
   > population 30,000, is still reeling after a tech worker at a division   
   > of one of its largest banks, the LGT Group, sold information on   
   > suspected tax evaders to the German authorities – data that was then   
   > distributed to tax agencies around the world, including Canada.   
   >   
   > The U.S. Department of Justice also contributed to Canada's haul when   
   > it targeted Swiss financial giant UBS. The U.S. investigation into UBS   
   > revealed that Swiss-based bankers, not licensed to conduct business in   
   > the United States, were travelling to large American cities and   
   > helping well-to-do clients store billions of dollars in “undeclared”   
   > accounts. To avoid prosecution, the bank signed an agreement to hand   
   > over the names of thousands of clients – an exchange of information   
   > that has been temporarily held up because of a recent Swiss court   
   > decision.   
   >   
   >   
   > “ We learn from the information that people provide. If it's people   
   > that are avoiding taxes, it can give us information on the schemes   
   > they're using. ”   
   > — CRA spokesperson Caitlin Workman   
   >   
   >   
   > Canada Revenue Agency has said it is in discussions with UBS for   
   > access to the names of its Canadian clients with Swiss accounts, a   
   > group that is estimated to collectively hold at least $5.6-billion in   
   > the vaults of Geneva and Zurich. CRA declined to explain the status of   
   > its ongoing negotiations.   
   >   
   > Caitlin Workman, a spokesperson for CRA, said there is much more to   
   > the agency's voluntary disclosure program than recovering taxes owed.   
   >   
   > “More importantly – it's intelligence,” she said. “We learn from the   
   > information that people provide. If it's people that are avoiding   
   > taxes, it can give us information on the schemes they're using.”   
      
   Excellent!  If someone is so dumb or arrogant that they are caught, TOUGH   
   NOOGIES!   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)