Description:  Approximately $15 million: that’s the amount of tax revenue that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has generated so far following the 2015 release of the Panama Papers. So far, the CRA has looked at 525 of the 894 Canadians identified in the Panama Papers. In 2016 CRA took a hard stance towards these Canadians, stating that anyone identified in the Panama Papers would not be eligible for the voluntary disclosure program. Voluntary disclosure allows a taxpayer to approach CRA to negotiate a deal that can help avoid prosecution. While Canada has generated $15 million, Spain appears to be the big winner so far with $210 million, though Britain hopes to eventually cash in with over $300 million in tax.

Date:  April 3, 2019

Source:  cbc.ca

Link: hhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/panama-papers-cra-tax-recovered-charges-1.5082058

Discussion points:   

1) Have you ever heard of the Panama Papers prior to reading this story? What do you find interesting about it?

2) What do you think of the CRA decision to not allow voluntary disclosure for anyone identified in the Panama Papers?

3) Page 170 in Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making tells us that the Canada Revenue Agency requires companies to file two types of returns. What are these two types and how frequently must they be filed? (Try guessing first; then turn to page 170 to check your score).