QUOTE (Icecubes @ Apr 21 2010, 11:17 AM) So George,
I`m wondering if your strategy is still working for you? My husband has just received a notice of reassessment in regards to this particular scam "Fight Aids, Save Taxes" and now has to pay back all of the money he originally saved, has been denied even the original amount he donated and is being charged interest from the date that his return was due (2 years ago), NOT the date of reassessment. So he has lost several thousand dollars to the Fight Aids, Save Taxes organization, has not received ANY tax benefit from it whatsoever, AND did not have an `interest free` loan with the government for the period of time before he was reassessed. Also, if you look online you can see that the Fight Aids, Save Taxes organization is advertising positions for sales reps, paying between $100,000 and $300,000 per year. Where are they getting all of this money to pay such ridiculously high wages to sales people? From the poor suckers who fall for their scam. I doubt that they even donate any of the money to fight aids. Darren Weeks is a liar and a thief and it`s sad that he continues to pull the wool over thousands of uneducated people`s eyes every single year.
Hi Icecubes,
I am quite confused on why you think you have to pay back the reassessment amount. The CRA may ask for it back, doesn`t mean they have any legal right of any kind to collect it. People get reassessed all the time regarding tax filings. Most people don`t understand how the CRA works, nor what actual authority they have. A reassessment from the CRA is more like an opinion. In the opinion of the CRA you owe them this much. Doesn`t mean they have any legal right to collect it from you.
The only person who has the legal right to collect anything from you, is a Judge. You simply have to follow the Income Tax Act and it is quite easy to fight the CRA. With the reassessment you should of submitted a denial form to the CRA within 30 days. This would simply tell them you deny their claim. From there it goes to appeals, which you can deny again if it is not in your favour. From there it has to go to a Tax Judge. Regardless, the CRA cannot audit you, they can only audit the tax shelter as a whole.
I am sad to hear the CRA scare tactics worked on your family, and you lost all the money. The CRA does not have authority to collect that from you. My Grandpa worked in the CRA for many years, which is where I get most my information.
Most people don`t realize that Tax Shelters ARE LEGAL. They are written IN THE TAX ACT. The key is finding a Tax Shelter that is compliant with the Income Tax Act. From the research I`ve done, Fight Aids Save Taxes works through Mission Life. Mission life Tax Shelters appears to be 100% compliant with the income tax act.
Also those who are concerned about interest charges and penalties, go look up old court cases with Public Tax Shelters. The CRA can only charge interest on a "reasonable amount of time", says it right inside the Income Tax Act. So people who think they are going to get back charged interest for 5 years, are just plain wrong. In most cases that make it before a Tax Judge, there are no interest or penalties ever chargesd
From reading these forums, I can see what my Grandpa means by saying "The CRA has the best scare tactics, and can usually scare people out of their rights".
If anyone has questions, I can try and answer them, or send them to my Grandpa who worked for the CRA until he retired.