"The seven-figure refund was issued through the CRA's automated processes in the spring of 2023 to Distribution Carflex Inc., a cash-strapped body shop in the Laurentians region of Quebec. According to internal records obtained by the CBC's the fifth estate and Radio-Canada, the $4.99-million transaction went through automatically, as it fell just short of a $5-million threshold for manual review in this type of tax refund."
"A source with inside knowledge of the CRA's workings said that returns are routinely processed electronically without human oversight, even in cases where millions are paid out that would later raise red flags. There should be eyeballs on that transaction, but there isn't, and that's the problem, said the source. CBC is not disclosing the identity of the source, who is not authorized to discuss the internal workings of the CRA or specific tax files."
"If the $5-million threshold had been met, CRA auditors would have performed a manual review of the tax return and might have noticed potential irregularities, the source said. The $4.99-million reimbursement was issued on the premise that Carflex had paid taxes on a large capital gain, but auditors later found no record of such a payment. The payment first attracted attention at TD bank, the institution where the money was deposited, and not the CRA, according to the leaked records."
Internal and leaked records show the Canada Revenue Agency issued a $4.99-million refund in spring 2023 to Distribution Carflex Inc., a struggling body shop in Quebec, through automated processes that bypassed manual review by falling just under a $5-million threshold. A source familiar with CRA operations said returns are routinely processed electronically without human oversight, even when millions are paid out. Auditors later found no record that Carflex had paid taxes on the alleged large capital gain that justified the reimbursement. The payment was first flagged by the receiving TD bank. The CRA is pursuing recovery in Federal Court.
Read at www.cbc.ca
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]