The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, and the member for Rimouski-Neigette
– Témiscouata – The Basques, Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, are indignant at the treatment that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) reserves for taxpayers who are victims of Canadian Emergency Benefit (CEP) fraudsters who owe unfairly pay taxes on amounts they have never claimed or received. The Bloc Québécois demands that the CRA first complete its investigations in order to attribute the burden of the costs and penalties to cheaters, not to victims.
“Rather than taking the time to complete its investigations to trace those who actually received checks from the PCU, the Canada Revenue Agency is deliberately placing the financial weight of the fault on taxpayers who are victims of fraud. Until proven otherwise, the CRA assumes that these victims have collected these benefits and that they must pay taxes on them, just as if they had actually been paid to them. These people are already overwhelmed by the fact of having been the target of fraud without being made to pay more for income that they did not touch, ”denounces Yves-François Blanchet.
“The Bloc Québécois had proposed that the Canada Revenue Agency postpone the deadline for submitting income tax returns by one month, as Quebec has done. This delay would have made it possible to advance the investigations into the PKU. The federal government refused. It is now the victims of fraud who must suffer the consequences of the investigation delay and who will be penalized if they delay in producing their documents. The federal government must correct this situation, ”adds Maxime Blanchette-Joncas.
“It makes no sense that the CRA is forcing victims of fraud to immediately file an inaccurate tax return, inflated by erroneous income, brandishing the threat that a delay could suspend payments of any other federal benefits these taxpayers may have.” law. The Canada Revenue Agency must act with diligence in the conclusion of its research and until its outcome, granting the presumption of innocence to the victims, so that they do not have to pay tax. on fraud, ”concludes Mr. Blanchette-Joncas.
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