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
- Defines 'tax gap' in law, including specific factors that must be used in its calculation
- Requires tax gap statistics to be broken down by taxpayer category (individuals, corporations by size, and trusts)
- Requires the Minister of National Revenue to provide the Parliamentary Budget Officer with tax gap data and any additional relevant data
- Applies existing parliamentary confidentiality protections to data shared with the Parliamentary Budget Officer
Gotchas
- Tax gap statistics are reported on a three-year lag — the data published must be from the fiscal year three years before the report is submitted, meaning the information may not reflect current conditions
- The bill does not require annual tax gap reporting, only once every three years, which may limit how quickly trends are identified
- Existing confidentiality rules from the Parliament of Canada Act apply to data shared with the Parliamentary Budget Officer, meaning sensitive taxpayer information retains legal protections
- The bill does not create new enforcement powers or penalties for tax evasion — it focuses solely on measurement and reporting
- The definition of 'tax gap' in the bill includes an estimate of taxes lost due to unreported foreign property, which could be difficult to measure accurately given the nature of offshore assets
Who's Affected
- Canada Revenue Agency (new reporting and data collection obligations)
- Minister of National Revenue (required to share data with the Parliamentary Budget Officer)
- Parliamentary Budget Officer (gains access to CRA tax gap data for independent analysis)
- Canadian taxpayers broadly (greater public transparency about tax evasion and uncollected taxes)
- Corporations, individuals, and trusts (their tax compliance data will be analyzed and reported in aggregate)
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- Tax gap statistics are reported on a three-year lag — the data published must be from the fiscal year three years before the report is submitted, meaning the information may not reflect current conditions
- The bill does not require annual tax gap reporting, only once every three years, which may limit how quickly trends are identified
- Existing confidentiality rules from the Parliament of Canada Act apply to data shared with the Parliamentary Budget Officer, meaning sensitive taxpayer information retains legal protections
- The bill does not create new enforcement powers or penalties for tax evasion — it focuses solely on measurement and reporting
- The definition of 'tax gap' in the bill includes an estimate of taxes lost due to unreported foreign property, which could be difficult to measure accurately given the nature of offshore assets
Summary
Bill S-217 amends the Canada Revenue Agency Act to improve transparency around unpaid taxes in Canada. 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 owe in taxes and what is actually collected. The bill also defines how the tax gap must be calculated, taking into account undeclared income, audit results, incorrect tax returns that went undetected, and unreported foreign property. The CRA must break down these statistics by type of taxpayer, including individuals, corporations of different sizes, and trusts. Additionally, the bill requires the Minister to share tax gap data with the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), who can use it for independent analysis. The bill was introduced by Senator Downe and is aimed at increasing government accountability and helping fight tax evasion, particularly involving offshore or international activity.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses