The accused was sentenced after a jury conviction on eight counts of tax evasion under the Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act arising from failure to report approximately $1.5 million in income from a foreign exchange trading education business and failure to remit GST between 2003 and 2006.
The total tax evaded was approximately $475,000.
The court emphasized that general deterrence is the primary sentencing objective for tax evasion offences because the integrity of the taxation system depends on voluntary compliance.
Despite the offender’s lack of prior record and personal hardships following the charges, the court found significant aggravating factors including deliberate concealment of income and breach of trust regarding GST funds.
A custodial sentence was imposed along with a fine of 150% of the taxes evaded.
