The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that James Besler, 57, of Esterhazy, appeared in Esterhazy Provincial Court on August 23, 2011 for three income tax offenses.
He was sentenced to three years in jail and fined $316,714, representing 100% of the taxes he evaded, resulting in a total of $633,428 in fines and federal taxes.
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Besler, a partner in an Esterhazy accounting firm that prepared the payroll returns for a local business, kept a large amount of these payroll funds by under-reporting employee incomes and falsifying financial statements.
CRA found significant discrepancies when they compared employee T4 slips and tax returns to the documents prepared by the chartered accountant.
Besler was also ordered to pay $816,632 in restitution to his former accounting partners.
Ninety days after his release from prison, he will have to pay $500 per month to each of the CRA and partners for a total of $1000 per month.
Tax evasion may result in a fine of up to 200% of the unpaid taxes and up to five years in jail.
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