Owing Money To The CRA: Tom’s Story Part 2
Tom can’t believe his eyes. He owes $27,000 to the CRA. What happened with the audit? Why didn’t his accountant handle the situation, or at least tell Tom there was an issue. So Tom picks up the phone and calls Ryan looking for an explanation.
After about a week Tom has finally had enough and he goes down to Ryan’s office to speak with him. He waits until Ryan will meet with him. He needs an explanation. Finally, Ryan calls him into the office. Tom, Ryan starts, CRA said the tax shelter wasn’t legal and you had some unreported income. So in addition to the taxes you owe, they’re also charging penalties. Tom thinks he is going to be sick. But Ryan, you talked me into using the tax shelter!
Tom, don’t worry too much about it. I spoke with the tax shelter people and they are sending out letters explaining what to do next. They said this is normal and everything will fix itself over time. You just have to trust me Tom.
Ryan, I trusted you and now I owe the government $27,000! Where am I going to get $27,000!?
Tom is too upset to stay so he picks up and leaves Ryan’s office. He drives home in a daze. $27,000… that’s all he can think about.
When he gets home Tom picks up the CRA letter again reading it carefully this time. He has no idea what it means. The tax shelter is abusive? Gross negligence penalties? It all sounds like gibberish. The back 0f the letter says he has 90 days to submit an objection. An objection? What is that?
He decides to do a little research of his own online. He doesn’t understand everything, but it seems that an objection is disagreeing with the outcome of the audit and fighting with CRA about it. Tom likes that idea but he doesn’t know how to object.
Wait a minute Tom thinks to himself. There was someone in the store last week talking about an issue they had with CRA.
What did he say?
A lightbulb goes off in Tom’s head. He remembers the whole conversation. The man was named Jim, and he was talking about how a tax lawyer helped him through a situation with CRA.
Tom hits his forehead with his palm. A lawyer, of course…
Owing money to the CRA will be continued…
Owing Money To The CRA: Tom’s Story Part 1
Owing Money To The CRA: Tom’s Story Part 2
**Disclaimer
This article provides information of a general nature only. It does not provide legal advice nor can it or should it be relied upon. All tax situations are specific to their facts and will differ from the situations in this article. If you have specific legal questions you should consult a lawyer.
