Bill S-226 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (reporting on unpaid income tax)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill proposes to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act to require annual reporting on tax evasion convictions and the 'tax gap'.
Bill S-226 proposes to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act. It would require the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to include in its annual report a detailed list of all convictions for tax evasion, with a separate list for overseas tax evasion. The bill would also require the Minister of National Revenue to report annually to Parliament on the 'tax gap,' which is defined in the bill as the difference between the taxes that should have been assessed on undeclared income and the taxes that were actually collected. The bill also outlines how the 'tax gap' is to be calculated and requires the Minister to provide relevant data to the Parliamentary Budget Officer for analysis, while ensuring the confidentiality of that data.
- Requires the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to report on all convictions for tax evasion in its annual report to the Minister.
- Requires a separate report on overseas tax evasion convictions within the annual report.
- Requires the Minister of National Revenue to report annually to Parliament on the 'tax gap'.
- Defines the 'tax gap' as the sum of unpaid taxes on undeclared income and the difference between assessed and collected taxes.
- Specifies components for calculating the 'tax gap', including reassessments, potential additional revenue, undetected errors, and uncollected tax due to non-compliance with foreign property reporting.
- Mandates the Minister to annually collect, compile, analyze, and abstract statistics on the 'tax gap' for Canadian taxpayers (individuals, corporations by size, and trusts).
- Requires the Minister to provide tax gap data to the Parliamentary Budget Officer for further analysis.
- Imposes confidentiality obligations on the Parliamentary Budget Officer and their staff regarding the provided tax gap data, with exceptions for essential disclosures related to their mandate.
- The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
- The Minister of National Revenue
- Taxpayers in Canada (individuals, corporations, trusts)
- The Parliamentary Budget Officer
- Parliament
- The CRA has an obligation to report tax evasion convictions in its annual report.
- The Minister of National Revenue has an obligation to report annually to Parliament on the tax gap.
- The Minister has an obligation to collect, compile, analyze, and abstract tax gap statistics.
- The Minister has an obligation to provide tax gap data to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
- The Parliamentary Budget Officer and staff have an obligation to maintain confidentiality of tax gap data, with specific exceptions.
- The bill was given first reading on April 2, 2015.
- The bill is currently at the second reading stage in the Senate.
- The bill does not specify an exact date for its commencement; it would come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
- The bill defines and requires reporting on the 'tax gap', which relates to unpaid income tax.
- The bill requires statistics to be compiled and analyzed regarding the 'tax gap'.
- The bill does not specify the exact date or mechanism by which these new reporting requirements will come into effect.
- While the bill defines 'tax gap' and outlines calculation components, the precise methodology and presentation of these statistics in the annual reports are not detailed.
- The bill does not detail the potential consequences or actions that may arise from the reporting of tax evasion convictions or the 'tax gap' statistics to Parliament.
Adds new reporting requirements regarding tax evasion convictions and tax gap statistics to the CRA's annual report.
Source: Section 2, which amends subsection 88(2)
Introduces a new section that defines 'tax gap' and outlines the Minister's responsibilities for collecting, compiling, analyzing, and reporting on tax gap statistics.
Source: Section 3, which adds section 88.1
Is referenced in the definition of 'tax gap' as the primary act under which taxes are assessed and collected.
Source: Section 3, which adds section 88.1(1)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
Bill S-226 completed first reading in the Senate on April 2, 2015, and was subsequently at the second reading stage.
This record indicates that Bill S-226, an Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act regarding the reporting of unpaid income tax, completed its first reading in the Senate on April 2, 2015. It also notes that the bill was at the second reading stage as of the time of this record's creation, with a debate at second reading scheduled for May 12, 2015, which included a speech from the sponsor.
Bill S-226 was introduced and received first reading in the Senate, with subsequent proceedings addressing other legislative items and committee reports.
This record details the first reading of Bill S-226 in the Senate on April 2, 2015. Senator Percy E. Downe introduced the bill, which aims to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act concerning the reporting of unpaid income tax. The bill was read for the first time, and a date was set for its second reading. The sitting also included discussions and proceedings on other matters, such as International Day of Mine Awareness, a user fee proposal, reports from various Senate committees, and debates on other bills.
On May 12, 2015, Bill S-226 was undergoing debate at the second reading stage in the Senate, with a sponsor's speech being delivered.
This artifact describes the procedural status of Bill S-226 in the Senate on May 12, 2015. The bill was at the second reading stage, meaning it was being debated. The record indicates that a sponsor's speech was made on this date, but the stage was not yet completed. The bill's first reading occurred earlier, on April 2, 2015.
On May 12, 2015, the Senate debated various matters, including foreign policy, domestic issues, and several bills, with a notable adjournment of debate on Bill S-226 concerning the Canada Revenue Agency Act.
This artifact is a record of a Senate sitting on May 12, 2015. During this sitting, various topics were discussed, including a joint parliamentary symposium in Canada and France, National Fiddling Day, visitors in the gallery, and issues related to the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada. There were also discussions and statements regarding supervised access to drugs, economic action plans, and budget matters. Several bills were also at various stages of the legislative process, including bills concerning the Canada Revenue Agency Act, the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the Sex Offender Information Registration Act. The debate on Bill S-226, an Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (reporting on unpaid income tax), was adjourned. The sitting also included the tabling of several reports from international meetings and discussions on the transformation and modernization of the Senate.
During the Senate's second reading debate, Senator Percy E. Downe advocated for Bill S-226, which aims to compel the Canada Revenue Agency to report on the "tax gap" to better combat overseas tax evasion and ensure fairness in the tax system.
During the Senate's second reading debate on Bill S-226, Senator Percy E. Downe spoke in favour of the bill, stating its purpose is to provide the government with tools to combat overseas tax evasion by requiring the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to report on the "tax gap." The tax gap is defined as the difference between the revenue the government expects to collect and what it actually collects, representing money lost to overseas tax evasion. Senator Downe argued that many other countries, including the U.S. and the UK, estimate their tax gaps to inform tax policy and resource allocation, but Canada does not. He expressed concern that the CRA's refusal to measure the tax gap suggests a failure to adequately combat overseas tax evasion, citing the "Liechtenstein affair" as an example where Canada recovered significantly less in back taxes compared to other nations. The bill aims to mandate the CRA to report on tax evasion convictions, particularly overseas ones, and to cooperate with the Parliamentary Budget Officer in providing data to assess the financial impact of tax evasion. Senator Downe emphasized the importance of fairness and transparency in the tax system and stated that the bill would help ensure Canadians have confidence that the tax system is fair and administered equally.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced