S-217 (45-1) - Fairness for All Canadian Taxpayers Act (measuring the tax gap to fight international tax evasion)
Chamber
senate
Stage
3rd Reading
Introduced
May 28, 2025
Progress
This bill requires the CRA to publicly report tax evasion convictions and measure Canada's 'tax gap' every three years.
Key Changes
- Requires the CRA's annual report to include a detailed list of all tax evasion convictions, with a separate list for international tax evasion
- Requires the CRA to publish tax gap statistics once every three years in its annual report
- Provides a legal definition of 'tax gap' and specifies how it must be calculated
- Requires tax gap data to be broken down by taxpayer category (individuals, corporations by size, and trusts)
- Requires the Minister of National Revenue to share tax gap data with the Parliamentary Budget Officer
- Applies existing Parliament of Canada Act confidentiality protections to data shared with the Parliamentary Budget Officer
Gotchas
- Tax gap statistics are only required every three years, not annually, which means the data may be several years old by the time it is published
- The bill specifies that the tax gap data reported must reflect the fiscal year ending three years before the report is submitted, meaning there is a built-in time lag in the information
- Confidentiality protections under the Parliament of Canada Act apply to data shared with the Parliamentary Budget Officer, limiting how that data can be disclosed publicly
- The bill does not create new enforcement powers or penalties for tax evasion — it focuses solely on transparency and reporting
- The definition of 'tax gap' in the bill includes an estimate of taxes lost due to unreported foreign property, which directly targets international tax evasion
Who's Affected
- Canada Revenue Agency (new reporting and data collection obligations)
- Minister of National Revenue (required to share data with the PBO)
- Parliamentary Budget Officer (gains access to tax gap data for independent analysis)
- Canadians who evade taxes (convictions will be publicly listed)
- Corporations, individuals, and trusts resident in Canada (subject to tax gap analysis)
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- Tax gap statistics are only required every three years, not annually, which means the data may be several years old by the time it is published
- The bill specifies that the tax gap data reported must reflect the fiscal year ending three years before the report is submitted, meaning there is a built-in time lag in the information
- Confidentiality protections under the Parliament of Canada Act apply to data shared with the Parliamentary Budget Officer, limiting how that data can be disclosed publicly
- The bill does not create new enforcement powers or penalties for tax evasion — it focuses solely on transparency and reporting
- The definition of 'tax gap' in the bill includes an estimate of taxes lost due to unreported foreign property, which directly targets international tax evasion
Summary
Bill S-217 amends the Canada Revenue Agency Act to make the CRA more transparent about unpaid taxes and tax evasion. It requires the CRA to include a detailed list of all tax evasion convictions — including international ones — in its annual report to the Minister of National Revenue. Every three years, the CRA must also publish statistics on the 'tax gap,' which is the difference between what Canadians should be paying in taxes and what is actually collected. The bill also defines how the tax gap must be calculated, taking into account things like audit results, unreported foreign property, and uncollected taxes. This data must be broken down by type of taxpayer — individuals, corporations of different sizes, and trusts. Additionally, the bill requires the Minister to share this tax gap data with the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), who can use it to conduct independent analysis. The bill was introduced by Senator Downe and is aimed at increasing government accountability and helping Canada better understand and address tax evasion, particularly involving offshore or international activity.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses