Were tax audits actually unfair?

In the editorial on Thursday February 15, “Unfair audits target servers”, how does the editor conclude that, “Law-abiding citizens are being audited and harassed?” I think he should have said, “Tax evasion is not law-abiding and cannot be condoned for anyone. All taxable income should be reported, or there must be negative consequences.”

Hopefully, the affected servers learned a valuable life lesson about how costly dishonesty can be to a person’s finances and integrity (and to not follow another people’s advice that “No one gets caught”). Those individuals already laden with student loans now have a tax debt to repay also. As a CPA and financial divorce specialist, I know from my work experience that individuals caught cheating on taxes often wind up both bankrupt and divorced because of the debt and stress it brings to the family.

The editor erred in one of his comments. The federal government did not back off new legislation to prevent the wealthy from sprinkling their income. The proposals were only modified to correct unintended consequences. The wealthy got their taxes increased even though they followed the rules. Fairness requires that those playing outside the rules must also expect negative consequences.

If you are feeling bad for lowincome folks, ask the premier to increase the P.E.I. basic tax exemption so it is not the lowest in Canada, and to adjust the P.E.I. low-income tax reduction to help more poor people. Do not encourage cheating.

Blair Corkum, Charlottetown