Drummondville businessman fined $70,637 for tax evasion

SHERBROOKE, QC, Dec. 22 /CNW Telbec/ - Gilles Soucy, of Drummondville, pleaded guilty today to tax evasion charges before the Court of Quebec. He was fined $70,637, which represents 125% of the federal tax he tried to evade.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigation revealed that for the 2005 and 2006 taxation years, Mr. Soucy voluntarily omitted to declare $233,367 in personal income.

In addition to the fines imposed by the Court, Mr. Soucy will have to pay the full amount of taxes owing plus related interest and any penalties that apply.

The vast majority of Canadians pay their taxes in full and on time. In fairness to them, the CRA has put into place effective and rigorous programs to identify those people who try to avoid paying taxes.

Individuals who have not filed returns for previous years, or who have not reported all of their income, can still voluntarily correct their tax affairs. They will not be penalized or prosecuted if they make a full disclosure before the CRA takes any action or starts an investigation concerning them. These individuals will only have to pay the taxes owing, plus interest. More information on the Voluntary Disclosures Program can be found on the CRA Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/voluntarydisclosures.

The information in this news release was obtained from the court records.

Further information on convictions can be found in the Media Room on the CRA Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/convictions.

For further information: For media: Kareen Dionne, Communications manager, [phone], poste 8288, Toll free: 1-800-292-3430, poste 8288