CRA criminal investigators given badges

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has issued the following news release. Full text of this and other CRA news releases can be found on the CRA web site:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/newsroom/releases/2007/march/nr070328-e.html

Ottawa, Ontario, March 28, 2007... The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has issued identification badges to its investigators.

The badge and accompanying identification card will serve as official identification only. CRA investigators' roles and powers will remain the same, as will the duties they perform.

The badges are a result of adjustments the CRA has made to its policies and procedures following a ruling made by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Jarvis and Ling decisions that CRA investigators could not rely on the same administrative powers as auditors to gather evidence for purposes of criminal investigations. While audits and investigations are both serious matters, an investigation can lead to a criminal charge. The badges will allow the public to easily distinguish between an auditor and a criminal investigator. This is consistent with the CRA's commitment to transparency.

The CRA takes any incident of deliberate abuse of Canada's tax laws very seriously. In 2005-2006, 252 income tax and Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) investigations were referred for possible criminal prosecution. These referrals along with those from previous years resulted in 293 convictions in 2005-2006 with the Courts imposing $14.4 million in fines and sentenced offenders to a combined total of 33 years in prison.