Former Conservative MP Rob Anders facing multiple charges for evading taxes
Posted Sep 29, 2020 10:22 am.
Last Updated Sep 29, 2020 12:16 pm.
OTTAWA — Former Conservative MP Rob Anders has been charged with tax evasion.
The federal prosecution service says Anders is also charged with making misleading statements and for getting a refund or credit than he should not have received.
The charges under the Income Tax Act were first reported by the National Post.
Anders represented a Calgary riding between 1997 and 2015, and the Post reported the charges are linked to his time in office.
Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said it’s possible Anders was exploiting some parts of the law, and that makes it harder to catch people avoiding taxes.
“These people should not be left off the hook. If you break the law, you should face the consequences just like anybody else. There can’t be one set of rules for regular people and one set of people for the super-rich. I think the challenge is trying to close the net on them.”
He added changes need to be made to make it harder for the wealthy to avoid paying taxes.
“I think the best way to catch this is to dramatically simplify the tax code. If you take away a lot of the loopholes that can only be exploited by really wealthy people, you essentially make it impossible to avoid paying taxes.”
Anders could not be immediately reached for comment and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 30.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published September 29, 2020.
The Canadian Press
