Panama’s leaks led to nearly $ 2 billion of government taxes

I started 10 years ago, when a German journalist received a message from an unknown sender: “Hello, this is John Du. Are you interested in data?”

What followed it in the days and months that followed a leakage of more than 11 million files from a law firm in Panamiya – the leakage that became known as Panama’s papers when it was It was revealed to the world in April 2016.

Confidential documents revealed hidden bank accounts, billions of paratroopers and real owners behind thousands of marine coincidence companies in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and Panama itself. The leak also drew the attention of tax agencies in the world, and she fully shot that in the event of hidden money, there is often an unpaid tax.

Now, about nine years after the first general reports on Panama’s papers, twenty of these national tax agencies say they raised a total of $ 1.86 billion of arrears and tax fines as a result of information in the leakage.

However, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) is not among these. While it is The latest numbers He showed that he evaluated $ 83 million of taxes and penalties to the point of scrutiny associated with Panama papers, and CRA says, unlike many other judicial states, do not follow the amount of what was already collected.

The complete global financial impact of Panama papers is likely to be much higher, as many tax agencies in countries will not reveal an accurate number, while others such as Cra can only say the extent of their due specification and not the amount that it has already regained.

This number was collected by international consortium for journalists, the Washington -based organization, which has coordinated the original reports on Panama’s papers by 100 international media, including CBC News.

The Swedish Tax Agency told reporters that it has recovered more than $ 300 million of taxes lost since 2021, and France has brought 297 million dollars, while tax collectors in Spain managed to compensate $ 250 million of assets and income that was previously not announced.

CR audits are still ongoing

In Canada, Federal agents have completed 310 audit operations in the people and entities called Panama’s papers, says CRA. More than 130 files are still examined – after nine years of leakage.

“It may take several years to complete these audits, because a large number of taxpayers used a variety of delay tactics or refused to deliver the required information, which requires Cra to use other tools to get them,” Cra said in a statement to La Presse and CBC News. “Some also resorted to competing for the agency in the court, which led to long and complex audits.”

It is worth noting that the agency has not provided any charges of criminal tax evasion regarding Panama’s papers. She says she launched six criminal investigations; Three were closed without charges, and three others are continuing.

“If it is likely that three trials across Canada – like, three – this is a kind of compassion,” said Jonathan Varrar, professor of tax accounting at Wilfred Lorir University in Waterllo.

In general, CRA has often followed criminal cases in recent years. Criminal charges were filed in 33 cases in the fiscal year 2019-20, as it decreased to 28 cases in 2022-23 and only seven in 2023-24. Likewise, while the agency carried out 196 inspections in 2019-20, the number decreased to 26 in 2022-23 and 59 last year.

“Instead of sending a warning message or snapshot across the bow, Cra is serious about taking strict measures against these bright cases of avoiding terrible taxes, and instead, it seems that the message is,” well, as you know, you can do what you want, and perhaps you will get away from something, “Farrar said.

More than 40 million dollars were evaluated in Quebec

Separately, Revenu Québec says that Panama papers have discovered $ 41.4 million of unpaid taxes, as of last fall. At least $ 30 million has been raised, but the exact amount of numbers that Revenu Québec was ready to be presented.

CRA and Revenu Québec say they also discovered taxes thanks to the information in another large leakage of the tax guard data, Paradise leavesThat appeared in November 2017.

CRA said it was evaluated $ 6.8 million of taxes and penalties as a result of Paradise papers, while Revenu Québec was 16.1 million dollars.