小心报税员的税务诈骗

随着报税季节来临，许多纳税人都决定将报税工作请收费报税员代替完成。但是，报税服务在加拿大为非监管行业。实际上，许多貌似税务专业人士的报税员要么不称职，报税中错误百出，要么进行税务欺诈，从而导致纳税人蒙受巨大经济损失。

With tax season underway, many taxpayers decide to outsource the job of filling out their return to a paid tax preparer. But tax preparation is not a regulated industry in Canada. Many walks like a tax professionals are in fact, either incompetent or run fraudulent tax schemes that causes financial damages to taxpayers.

报税噩梦

Tax filler’s nightmare

一名无牌报税员就曾让刘明遭遇噩梦般的经历。数年前，在一个大公司工作的刘明因为被解雇而获得一笔遣散费，另外刘还曾进行一笔股票期权交易，从而使得他的报税变得极为复杂。因此当一名理财顾问提出以$100元帮其填写报税单时，他欣然同意。

Liu Ming had a terrible experience with an unlicensed tax preparer. Several years ago, Liu was laid off from his job at a big company. A severance package and a stock option he exercised made his tax turn complicated. When a financial advisor offered to prepare the return for $100, he agreed. 

但实际上帮刘明报税者是这名理财顾问的父亲，他刚刚移民加拿大并且未接受过任何会计专业培训。由于报税者重复计算刘明获得的股票期权，他需要多缴纳$1万元税费。在接到加拿大税务局的税务审计后刘明震惊不已。

It turned out that the return was prepared by the advisor’s father, a new immigrant in Canada who had no training as an accountant. The return which double-counted the stock option required Liu to pay $10,000 more than he owed. A notice from the CRA sent Liu on edge.

刘明称：“加拿大税务局的通知让我目瞪口呆……当时我刚刚失去工作，这份通知无疑会让我的家庭财务状况陷入危机。”

“I was dumb founded when I got the notice from the CRA… I just lost my job and this notice would certainly put my family finance in crisis,” says Liu.

在花费数千元聘请税务律师和加拿大税务局打了一场漫长的官司后，刘明终于要回了多交的税款。但这段经历让他至今仍心有余悸。

After several thousands of dollars on tax lawyers and a lengthy fight with the CRA, Liu eventually got the money back. But this experience has still haunted Liu till this day.

刘明一边轻拭额头的汗珠一边说：“我绝对不会再让无牌‘会计师’碰我的税单。”

“I would never, ever allow an unlicensed “accountant” to touch my return,” says Liu, as he dabs the sweats on his forehead.

税务欺诈

如果说一些不称职的报税员是好心办坏事，而另一些人则为蓄意欺诈纳税人和税务系统的骗子。

If some incompetent tax preparers have the best of intentions, others are perpetrators who run scams to defraud the taxpayers and the system.

在王选择报税员时，一名报税员声称够帮他获得更多退税，令王不禁心动。该报税员不仅向王提供了伪造的慈善捐款收据，还在他的税表中捏造了虚假抵税捐款，令王从加拿大税务局获得大量退税。

When Wang was shopping for a tax preparer, he was lured in by someone who offered him larger amount of refund than others. The tax preparer offered Wang with false charitable donation receipts and helped Wang claim a taxable donation that he didn’t make.  Wang received a substantial amount of refund from the CRA as a result.

但这一报税骗局很快被加拿大税务局识破，涉案报税员也被认定犯有税务欺诈罪。此前他已经进行过近200次虚假纳税申报，并以客户的虚假捐款数额提成作为其服务费。

But the fraudulent scheme was busted by the CRA. The tax preparer was found guilty of tax fraud scheme. He prepared nearly 200 false returns, and collected a portion of the false donation amount from his clients as fees for his services.

加拿大税务局进行评估后，要求王退还高达近$6,000元的退税、以及罚金和利息。

A reassessment from the CRA required Wang to repay for the refund, with penalties and interest as high as $6,000.

如果报税员在未经客户同意的情况下伪造税单信息，以获取部分虚假退税，那就涉及税务欺诈行为。但是，尽管虚假税单是由他人填报，报税人却必须对税单上的所有信息负责。

Tax preparers who fabricate return information without the client’s consent to obtain a portion of inflated refund has run tax fraudulent scheme. However, despite the fact that the false tax return was prepared by someone else, it is the tax filer who is responsible for all the information on the return.

实际上，在报税员将你拖入泥潭前通常会有一些预警信号。当报税员虚设空头公司、从不过问你的财务记录、或是唆使你虚报捐款抵税时，你就应该提高警惕。

There are usually warning signs that a tax preparer may lead you into trouble. Alarm should sound when someone works out of a sign-less, empty storefront, never asks you for your financial record, or tells you to inflate your claimed tax deductible donations.

此外，纳税人还应提防那些将退税按比例提成的报税员，因为他们的报酬与你的退税息息相关，因此他们会在不考虑你被税务局盯上的风险情况下，想方设法将你的退税金额最大化。

Be wary about tax preparers who may charge you a percentage of your refund. So long as their pay is tied to the size of your refund, they'll do whatever it takes to maximize it -- even if it could land you in trouble with the CRA.

如果报税员涉及欺诈性报税服务，你应立即拨打1-866-809-6841联系加拿大税务局。

If a tax preparer is offering you fraudulent tax preparation services, you should inform CRA immediately at 1-866-809-6841.