CRA to fingerprint accused tax evaders

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Burnaby49
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CRA to fingerprint accused tax evaders

Post by Burnaby49 »

The CRA has a new policy of mandatory fingerprinting accused tax evaders and put the prints into the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database. This makes them accessible to all police in Canada and to American Homeland Security. This has been in place since last July but the first I've heard of it. The motive seems to be as much about raising the bar on the price of evading taxes as it is about public safety;
The Canada Revenue Agency has begun to record the fingerprints of every person charged with tax evasion, a move that could severely restrict foreign travel for anyone accused but not necessarily convicted of a criminal tax offence.

"Introducing a mandatory fingerprinting policy would serve as a powerful deterrent to those considering committing a serious tax offence or those who may contemplate reoffending," says an internal memorandum justifying the new measure.

"The mobility restriction is an important deterrent, especially for people engaged in offshore tax evasion."
While I can agree with this part;
The document also says the new policy puts those accused of tax evasion on a level playing field with people charged with theft, fraud and financial crimes.
I question doing it before a conviction. Someone charged and acquitted might still have problems because of the fingerprint bank. While the CRA says an acquittal will result in the removal of the prints from the database we all know about the efficiency of government agencies. I speak from experience having worked for one for 35 years.
Walters says if an accused is acquitted of tax evasion, the agency will "request" the fingerprints be removed from the CPIC database — though some law firms specializing in fingerprint "destruction" warn the images could remain for months, depending on the protocols of the police service that registered the prints.

The new policy is part of the agency's renewed emphasis on tax cheats, especially offshore tax evaders, and includes $444.4 million earmarked in last year's budget to combat tax evasion over five years.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada- ... -1.3992715
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Re: CRA to fingerprint accused tax evaders

Post by The Observer »

The US is trying something different with the passage last year of H.R. 22 which allows for the revocation of a US passport by the State Department for anyone that the IRS certifies as having a delinquent tax debt of more than $50,000. The details of how all of this is supposed to work only recently got hammered out between State and the IRS. This is ostensibly aimed at the bigger debtors, who have the ability to travel abroad and have scoffed at paying their taxes; this should hit hard at those who rely on travel as part of their livelihood.

But, like you Burnaby, I can foresee problems where individuals will fall through the cracks of bureaucracy and find themselves in a Kafkaesque scenario where they cannot leave the country, despite having resolved the liability.
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Re: CRA to fingerprint accused tax evaders

Post by Arthur Rubin »

The Observer wrote:The US is trying something different with the passage last year of H.R. 22 which allows for the revocation of a US passport by the State Department for anyone that the IRS certifies as having a delinquent tax debt of more than $50,000.
This is approaching both politics and dealing with tax cheats who are not tax protesters, but wouldn't be better to keep them out of the country than to keep them in . :naughty:
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Re: CRA to fingerprint accused tax evaders

Post by obadiah »

The Observer wrote:The US is trying something different with the passage last year of H.R. 22 which allows for the revocation of a US passport by the State Department for anyone that the IRS certifies as having a delinquent tax debt of more than $50,000. The details of how all of this is supposed to work only recently got hammered out between State and the IRS.
Wouldn't that potentially leave you "stateless" and an illegal immigrant in whatever country you happened to be in or just entering into?
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Re: CRA to fingerprint accused tax evaders

Post by Burnaby49 »

obadiah wrote:
The Observer wrote:The US is trying something different with the passage last year of H.R. 22 which allows for the revocation of a US passport by the State Department for anyone that the IRS certifies as having a delinquent tax debt of more than $50,000. The details of how all of this is supposed to work only recently got hammered out between State and the IRS.
Wouldn't that potentially leave you "stateless" and an illegal immigrant in whatever country you happened to be in or just entering into?
No. Citizenship and passport are separate issues. If your passport was revoked while you are out of the country you'd still be an American citizen and would have the right to return to the US. Americans don't need passports to get back into the country, they need them to leave. If your passport was revoked you would still be in the foreign country legally since you got in under a valid passport and you would remain an American citizen.
"Yes Burnaby49, I do in fact believe all process servers are peace officers. I've good reason to believe so." Robert Menard in his May 28, 2015 video "Process Servers".

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Re: CRA to fingerprint accused tax evaders

Post by The Observer »

I did some more reading up on the law, and there will be avenues for taxpayers to sue in court over the denial of the passport issuance if they believe the determination is in error or that the IRS failed to remove their name from the delinquent list. So the Kafka scenario is less likely.
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Re: CRA to fingerprint accused tax evaders

Post by noblepa »

Burnaby49 wrote:
obadiah wrote:
The Observer wrote:The US is trying something different with the passage last year of H.R. 22 which allows for the revocation of a US passport by the State Department for anyone that the IRS certifies as having a delinquent tax debt of more than $50,000. The details of how all of this is supposed to work only recently got hammered out between State and the IRS.
Wouldn't that potentially leave you "stateless" and an illegal immigrant in whatever country you happened to be in or just entering into?
No. Citizenship and passport are separate issues. If your passport was revoked while you are out of the country you'd still be an American citizen and would have the right to return to the US. Americans don't need passports to get back into the country, they need them to leave. If your passport was revoked you would still be in the foreign country legally since you got in under a valid passport and you would remain an American citizen.
Not true. US citizens DO need a valid US passport to return to the US. The only exception is a closed-loop cruise; one that leaves and arrives in the same port.

If a passport were revoked while the holder was abroad, I imagine it would be treated more or less the same as one that was lost or stolen while abroad. There would be delays, while citizenship was verified, and the person would eventually be re-admitted.

My wife and I like to cruise and this question comes up on cruise-related sites. Some argue that a passport should never be taken ashore when visiting a Caribbean port, which does not require them for day visitors. The problem is that, should you miss the ship, you can't even board an airplane to return to the US, until you arrange alternate travel documents with the local US embassy or consulate.