Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 21, 1989, Winnipeg, Manitoba Pay your Bills using the Telephone 9479300 division of com chef services limited 298 Garry r3c1h3 Winnipeg free press May 1989 pages 1324 managing Money aim cooperate if you want to ease the pain of a visit from tax police by Paul Samyn you probably didst think much of it at the after Doest every one fudge a Little on their tax re turn but now its too late and you find yourself travelling through another a dimension not Only of invoices and but also of deductions a journey into a con fusing land whose boundaries Are that of Revenue Canadas imagination next the audit most of us will never find ourselves living every taxpayers worst if youre a typical t4 salaried employee with few chances Are reve nue Canadas auditors wont be interested in finding out How much you make and How much tax was deducted from your pay Cheque can easily be done by referring to information provided by employ in the closest most of us will Ever get to an audit is if we Are chosen for random spot checks to verify compliance on such things expenses or property tax less than one per cent of t4 earners come under this which also helps catch common errors and identify areas of confusion on the tax different Story its a different Story for professionals such As lawyers and sales reps on people who own businesses and anyone else who has control Over their earnings and voluntarily Esti mates the amount of tax they owe at its Revenue Canada can show up on your Doorstep and de Mand the information it needs to get to the Bottom of your Bottom and if tax evasion or fraud is us youll get a visit Froni their special investigations unit the tax police who will gather evidence necessary to bring you to Revenue Canadas vigilance in these taxing matters is not without Good in audits managed to re cover about million in taxes that people and corporations had pocketed we Are protecting the integrity of the says the chief of special the free press agreed not to name him and Revenue Canadas chief of audits due to the sensitivity of a local Security we owe it to every taxpayer that files a return that the system is As accurate and As fair As Possi he everything As accurate and fair As possible is usually done by one of two types of the first is known As a desk and is normally a Small Pota toes Type of Check into the veracity of some of your for you May get a Call asking for copies of your travel expenses or receipts for rental in desk audits tend to be fairly routine and generally should cause you Little or no but you can Start sweating if you Are chosen As the unlucky recipient of a Field in this dreaded you will be placed under Revenue Canadas magnifying Glass so some Audi Tor can poke and prod into your financial affairs for the last three years until he finds what he in auditors took their Fine toothed comb to corporations and the arrival of a reve nue Canada auditor on your door step has Little to do with bad if nothing the department tends to be mercilessly it Only hits on taxpayers who Are Worth the time and Effort of an sniffing out those who have some thing Rotten in the state of their deductions is now largely the Job of modern Revenue Cana Das computer can Cross Back file and do a few other fancy calculations to find Anoma discrepancies and anything else but ripoffs about those who have strayed from the straight and Nar Row Are not limited to computer generated Revenue Canada always has it Seyes special projects to sew up loopholes and makes use of Anonymous tipster the special investigations chief says disgruntled wives and neighbors will often go the Anonymous tipster route to squeal on someones income tax for some neighbors will be tired of you pounding on fenders every night and let us know youve been running a body shop on the when Revenue Canada decides it wants to sink its Teeth into the bad news will usually come by but spokesman Brenda Scarcella says an audit Doest necessarily mean that your life will become a living its like going to the she you anticipate the worse but its not so a Good Way to avoid the pain is to realize that you May As Well try and make the Best of a potentially bad if you cooperate the audit will be Over easier and cause less stress for the the chief of audits and you will get the auditor out of your hair in less time and know where you he adds you panic or do anything that will make the auditor dont throw receipts in the Gar Bage and dont make plans to leave the when Revenue Canada pops you will of course be allowed More than one phone eve Lyn jacks of u r tax services says one of your first Calls should be to an accountant or tax its usually a Good idea to have a professional with jacks the professional will know the ins and outs of the income tax act and will be playing on a level Field with the a big reason for having a professional on your Side is that the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty tends to Fly out the window when the auditor the Burden of proof rests with and for most that Means hav ing someone in the know argue your Case and explain Why your claims and deductions Are unless youve been audited be its going to be pretty scary because you dont know whats going to happen and what the pro Cess says Mark senior tax manager at Price he says you should also know what your rights Are and not accept Revenue Canadas decision simply because they Are Revenue Cana just because they have said something Doest mean there Gray noting that there Are plenty of avenues for Gray adds you get gun shy in claiming deductions because you want to avoid the Cost in time and Money of haggling with reve nue Canada somewhere Down the any expenses incurred As part of an audit Are tax deduct jacks says u r will cover any interest and penalties due to its mistakes up to twice the amount you paid to have your return pre she says you should Check for this kind of insurance when choosing a tax preparations ser for those who have been carry ing around the guilt of some tax there is a Way to come through a voluntary you can confess your tax Clear your conscience and avoid having to pay any Revenue Canada must be satisfied that your disclosure is entirely sincere and not because you were feeling the heat from an audit or special the auditor cant be coming in the front door As you go out the Back door then its too the special investigations chief but Gray cautions that you should seek professional advice be fore you decide to purge your never go Down to Revenue can Ada without seeing an accountant dont just walk in and say i stole Revenue Canada requires you to keep financial records for six years and for that a Rule that makes a lot of she says keeping organized and Well documented rec ords will not Only make filling out your tax return easier its your Best defence against an the Best Way to get through an audit is to prepare now to avoid tax dodgers face jail and heavier fines listen tax the Long Arm of Revenue Canada is going to get you and this year there packing extra Revenue Canada spokesman Brenda Scarcella says to canadians miss the filing deadline each year for one reason or but since virtually everyone has a social insurance it Doest take the computer Long to catch up with those wayward tax its become More and More apparent that they will show up and Likely sooner than she when the Taxman does rein you youll be staring at a Fine of five per cent for any tax owing plus one per cent for each month that youre delinquent up to a maximum of 17 per youll also have to cough up the interest on your Over due but in the Wake of tax repeat offenders will now be hit with a 10 per cent penalty plus two per cent for each month overdue up to 20 this part of the in come tax act has been stiffened up to ensure people people that dont comply will be treated Scarcella says Revenue Canada usually turns its to non filers by late summer or Early a those owed refunds will be in were not going to hound people who Are getting Nasty letters but those owing Money will be in for a series of Nasty letters every 30 and if you have failed to file after the third court action May be taken to Settle the maintaining Public Confidence in the tax system also gives Revenue Canada the right to go out and collect Money its its collection division can Gar Nish place liens against property and seize interest owing will be calculated at a rate equivalent to that paid on government Treasury these Are last scarce la says of the collection methods thank goodness most taxpayers fulfil their obligations and do pay their Scarcella adds that those facing a reassessment should pay their Bill even if they Are planning an since the interest meter will be run if you win your Appeal you will get the Money Back with inter if Revenue Canada catches you in some fraud or tax evasion youll also be in for an unpleasant a summary conviction for tax evasion Means you you could be paying Between 50 per cent and 200 per cent of the tax you could also land in jail for up to two previously the Fine was set at 25 per the penalties for indictable of fences now include a minimum Fine of 100 per cent and a maximum of 200 per and up to five years in Scarcella says those that Are waiting to file because they Are getting a refund Are also making a big while Revenue Canada wont be on your you will be losing Money As interest on refunds is Only calculated from the Day your re turn is and because time has a tendency of sneaking up on Scarcella says you could end up missing out on much you have up to three Calendar years prior to 1981 it was four to file for a when 1 of the fourth year Rolls your refund will automatically flow to the government no ands or Ive seen so Many refunds lost in that she says what makes these situa7 tons All the sadder is that any confusion about refunds could have been cleared up simply by Contact ing Revenue if you need its As close As a phone wine prices across Canada Mazda rx7 costlier but sports car risky buy Scotia new Brunswick Saskatchewan my i priced 1989 n determined through Survey provincial liquor outlets Winnipeg free press dear Phil my son is away attending College and has almost no mechanical yet he wants to buy a used Mazda he has saved about and is looking for a Good 198284 in afraid the car would be costly to since it has a rotary engine that cannot be fixed by Independent i told him he would be better off getting an american sports car or a am i right dear youre half a used Honda prelude or Accord would Cost less but it would not be More reliable than a on the other used american sports cars Are risky buys because their body hardware is weak and their fuel and electrical systems Are the rear wheel drive rx7 hit the Market in 1979 and Leonaid Phil Edmonston made a great it was comple Tely redesigned in but the Model lost some of its originality in the pre1986 cars were available As two seaters newer models were sold As either two seaters or but the rear seat is More decoration than any thing the rx7 is an impressive per but the ride can be painful on bad the gel and Turbo models Are very Well equipped and luxuriously the rx7 has served to dispel any doubts concern ing the durability of rotary but there Are still a few unspecialized mechanics who will try to per form repairs on this cars prices Are careful maintenance is in order contaminated Oil or overheating will damage the in insurance premiums Are Likely to be quite the clutch will Wear quickly if used radiators have a Short disc brakes need frequent attention to the calipers and the Macpherson struts get soft More quickly than exhaust system components dont take Long to there Are a few surface rust complaints on pre1986 Rocker panels and body seams Are prone to More serious the underbody on older cars should be inspected carefully for corrosion a 1982 rx7 is Worth about in Good an 84 version is a much better buy for Only Odd one of Fords warranty extensions addresses the problem of front Brake moan on 1986 Aerostat Ford says it will install new Brake assemblies free of charge up to six months from the Date owners receive a notification second owners Are eligible and there is no mileage Odd if the windows of your vehicle Are hard to open and close because the weather stripping is binding in the dont use an aerosol Silicon Spray to free up the win the propellant in sprays causes the weatherstripping to resulting in even More friction be tween it and the use a Brushton lubricant containing Sili readers May Send inquiries to Phil Box place do Montreal p o ;