Ontario propane supplier pleads guilty to tax evasion

BELLEVILLE, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 16, 2017) - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that Keith Maracle of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in the County of Hastings, Ontario pleaded guilty on October 13, 2017, in the Quinte Court House to one count of Goods and Services Tax / Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) evasion.

Maracle operated Tyendinaga Propane, a business supplying propane to customers in the region, including to customers who do not reside on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory reserve. Beginning January 1, 2008 and through to September 4, 2013, Maracle reported to the CRA that he had no sales and remitted no GST/HST.

The CRA investigation established that, for the period of January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2013, Maracle received $5,718,801 from selling propane and propane-related services to off-reserve customers, thereby evading $440,907 in GST/HST. Maracle failed to collect and remit GST/HST to the Crown for the off-reserve sales.

Sentencing hearings are expected later this year.

All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.

Wilfully failing to follow tax laws could result in serious consequences, including reassessments, the imposition of civil penalties and criminal tax investigations and prosecutions resulting in the imposition of court fines and jail time. Under the income tax and excise tax laws, persons convicted of tax evasion will face fines ranging from 50% to 200% of the evaded taxes and up to five years imprisonment.

Tax evasion impacts all of us. Anyone with information about persons they believe are involved in a tax evasion scheme should contact the National Leads Centre at 1-866-809-6841. You may do so anonymously and the CRA will endeavor to protect your identity.

Further information on convictions can be found in the Media Room on the CRA website at canada.ca/cra-convictions.