What You Must Know If You Pay Income Tax in Canada
Consider this: Most Canadians know that if you commit a murder, you're presumed innocent until proven guilty.
It's the reverse with tax. If you're assessed with a tax debt by the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), you're guilty until proven innocent. And if you don't know how to protect yourself, the CRA can wreak havoc in your life. And in some situations, they can even destroy your entire financial base.
If you've ever been reassessed on your income tax or worse, been audited, you know how frustrating it can be to deal with the tax man. It's infuriating to be treated as if you're a criminal, even when you know it's not true.
Worse, good information about Revenue Canada is hard to come by. If you're like me, you've probably scoured the library and the Internet looking for a solution. And it's not easy to find, unless you stumble upon the right keyword combination.
That happened to me a few days ago. I found and downloaded a book called: "The Tax Collector's Bible," and it's written by Alan Baggett, a former CRA auditor. In this book, Alan blows the lid off the secrecy of the CRA and takes the reader on an inside look at Canada's income tax system.
Here are some of the topics covered in the book:
• Learn about the limitation on CRA's powers
• How to defend yourself against CRA's misconduct
• How to access the CRA's secret files on you!
• How to Protect your assets from an overzealous tax collector
• The Secrets of Canada's Tax Exiles: what you need to learn
I've read several other books on tax in Canada, most notably by Alex Doulis, but The Tax Collector's Bible is the first book I've ever read by a former CRA agent. To be blunt, it's a wealth of information and it covers virtually every income tax scenario you can think of. Most importantly, you'll learn about how to frustrate the tax collector and even how to beat them, without going to court.
Several years ago, when I was being abused by an auditor, I found few avenues of complaint other than a lawsuit. And the price was astronomical, at least $50,000.00 just to get started and who only knows how many years it would have taken to win. As a case in point, check out the stories of Irvin Leroux or Hal Neumann and you'll see what I mean.
Let's address a couple of the points above. Want to protect your bank accounts from the tax collector? Move your funds out of Canada and preferably offshore. Now why would you do that? If you're being audited and the audit turns into an investigation, you stand to lose everthing you own. If you bank offshore in a tax haven, there's no way for the CRA to seize your funds.
The Tax Collector's Bible lists different countries where you can move your funds and even gives out a list of web sites for more information.
Did you know that there's an income tax revolt going on? It is but unlike our neighbors to the south, Canadians generally don't yell and scream a lot. They tend to go underground and do things quietly, with the possible exception of the HST fight in British Columbia. Still, a conservative estimate is that there are over two million Canadians who have opted out of the income tax system and the numbers are rising every year. The Tax Collector's Bible describes what's going on at length in Chapter 4: Just How many tax debtors are there?
Want to stop paying income tax completely? Become a tax exile. One way is to leave the country. If you've been out of the country for longer than 182 days in two calendar years, you're now a non-resident and you no longer have to pay income tax. The Tax Collector's Bible lists two other ways, even if you're still living in Canada.
It's the reverse with tax. If you're assessed with a tax debt by the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), you're guilty until proven innocent. And if you don't know how to protect yourself, the CRA can wreak havoc in your life. And in some situations, they can even destroy your entire financial base.
If you've ever been reassessed on your income tax or worse, been audited, you know how frustrating it can be to deal with the tax man. It's infuriating to be treated as if you're a criminal, even when you know it's not true.
Worse, good information about Revenue Canada is hard to come by. If you're like me, you've probably scoured the library and the Internet looking for a solution. And it's not easy to find, unless you stumble upon the right keyword combination.
That happened to me a few days ago. I found and downloaded a book called: "The Tax Collector's Bible," and it's written by Alan Baggett, a former CRA auditor. In this book, Alan blows the lid off the secrecy of the CRA and takes the reader on an inside look at Canada's income tax system.
Here are some of the topics covered in the book:
• Learn about the limitation on CRA's powers
• How to defend yourself against CRA's misconduct
• How to access the CRA's secret files on you!
• How to Protect your assets from an overzealous tax collector
• The Secrets of Canada's Tax Exiles: what you need to learn
I've read several other books on tax in Canada, most notably by Alex Doulis, but The Tax Collector's Bible is the first book I've ever read by a former CRA agent. To be blunt, it's a wealth of information and it covers virtually every income tax scenario you can think of. Most importantly, you'll learn about how to frustrate the tax collector and even how to beat them, without going to court.
Several years ago, when I was being abused by an auditor, I found few avenues of complaint other than a lawsuit. And the price was astronomical, at least $50,000.00 just to get started and who only knows how many years it would have taken to win. As a case in point, check out the stories of Irvin Leroux or Hal Neumann and you'll see what I mean.
Let's address a couple of the points above. Want to protect your bank accounts from the tax collector? Move your funds out of Canada and preferably offshore. Now why would you do that? If you're being audited and the audit turns into an investigation, you stand to lose everthing you own. If you bank offshore in a tax haven, there's no way for the CRA to seize your funds.
The Tax Collector's Bible lists different countries where you can move your funds and even gives out a list of web sites for more information.
Did you know that there's an income tax revolt going on? It is but unlike our neighbors to the south, Canadians generally don't yell and scream a lot. They tend to go underground and do things quietly, with the possible exception of the HST fight in British Columbia. Still, a conservative estimate is that there are over two million Canadians who have opted out of the income tax system and the numbers are rising every year. The Tax Collector's Bible describes what's going on at length in Chapter 4: Just How many tax debtors are there?
Want to stop paying income tax completely? Become a tax exile. One way is to leave the country. If you've been out of the country for longer than 182 days in two calendar years, you're now a non-resident and you no longer have to pay income tax. The Tax Collector's Bible lists two other ways, even if you're still living in Canada.
Source...