CRA taking Islanders to court over $100 million in unpaid taxes

The Canada Revenue Agency is using the court system to attempt to collect $100 million it says Islanders and Island businesses owe to the federal government for unpaid taxes.

It’s unsurprising to Mark Marshall, a licensed insolvency trustee with Allan Marshall and Associates.

He deals daily with people owing or trying to pay off taxes that have been sent to collections. The move is often a last resort after contacting the debtor is unsuccessful, issues have been discovered or a payment arrangement hasn't been made. It’s a situation that causes a lot of stress, he said.

"A lot of times, people will deal with their stress by ... ultimately not addressing it," he said.

Through legal action filed in the courts, the CRA is attempting to collect $100 million from 16,366 people on P.E.I.

Nationally, about 3.3 million people owe $24.8 billion. And those are just the amounts that have gone to court —total tax debt owing for Canadians is $136 billion.

Documents filed in P.E.I. Supreme Court show a wide range of amounts owing, some in the tens of thousands and others more than one million.

Marshall explained there are mechanisms in place to compromise CRA debt, allowing Canadians to make a payment plan. 

He said roughly half of the people he meets with have CRA issues, "some large, some small."

Many of those who owe have started their own businesses, but don't always hire a bookkeeper or an accountant until it's too late, Marshall said.

"You always have to stay on top of that stuff, right out of the gate."

Marshall's advice is to speak to a trustee before the debt goes to the courts.

"My suggestion to anybody is regardless if you owe any money, get things filed, get them on record."

P.E.I. Senator Percy Downe says though unpaid taxes aren't unique to the Island, they're still a big problem.