Fellow Canadians...pay your taxes.

Of course you all report and pay your taxes but check out what our government is doing...seems like they are going hi tech for finding tax fraud. If you do things like you're supposed to you'll be fine but either way this does raise some privacy concerns.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/175753

Search for tax cheats goes hi-tech

January 28, 2007
Tyler Hamilton
Business Reporter
Internet tax evaders beware: Canadaâ€™s revenue agency is testing out a software program known as a "spider" that methodically crawls the Internet looking for online tax cheats.

The software, called Xenon and created in the Netherlands three years ago by Amsterdam-based Sentient Machine Research, is designed to go after online auction, gambling and shopping sites that operate out of Canada but neglect to pay their taxes.

Canada is co-operating with Austria, Denmark, the U.K. and the Netherlands as part an international tax-enforcement cartel thatâ€™s evaluating the effectiveness of the software, according to a recent report from Wired.com.

Colette Gentes-Hawn, a spokesperson for Canada Revenue Agency, confirmed that the department is testing the software to enhance its enforcement activities online, where millions of businesses have been able to conduct business in relative obscurity.

"Now we need more sophisticated tools for the new age of commerce," said Gentes-Hawn. "Thereâ€™s no difference between a business on the Internet, a Sears catalogue and a business down the street. Theyâ€™re all businesses and they all have to pay their taxes."

She added, however, that Internet businesses are forcing a change in tax-enforcement techniques. "Theyâ€™re not something you can (physically) see. They present special challenges that require special tools."

The department emphasized that the software is still in testing and not yet in official use. Whether it will become a standard investigation tool remains uncertain. "Weâ€™ll see how it goes," said Gentes-Hawn.

The Xenon spider program can discreetly probe certain categories of websites, such as auction sites or businesses that have a track record of tax evasion. A "Web identification tool" determines the probable owner of the website, and data from the site is captured and cross-referenced with national databases and tax records.

Xenon "not only detects unknown taxpayers, but also other probably non-compliant events such as the unauthorized use of brand names or illegal diversion of trade," according to a 2006 "risk management guide" published by the European Commission.

Itâ€™s unclear whether the data merely offers red flags to be investigated or provides direct evidence of tax evasion. Canada's revenue agency would not comment specifically on how the program is being used. Rob van der Veer, chief executive of Sentient Machine, did not respond to a request for an interview.

Michael Geist, an Internet law expert at the University of Ottawa, said the software could pose some privacy concerns if it goes beyond what could easily be obtained through a search for public information on Google or Yahoo.

"It does give some reason for pause," said Geist. "One would hope that whatever the government runs would comply with anti-hacking laws. Hopefully it can just obtain what is otherwise publicly available."

He said another concern is if the software targets individuals rather than businesses. "What the Internet has done is blurred the distinction between someone running a business and an individual just reselling some used stuff from their house."
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Fellow Canadians...pay your taxes.

m0rtal Well-Known Member

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Fellow Canadians...pay your taxes.

m0rtal Well-Known Member

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