Canada Revenue Agency gets more teeth to catch potential tax cheats

The federal government is cracking down on potential tax cheats by introducing new measures to track cryptocurrency transactions and giving the Canada Revenue Agency more teeth to penalize taxpayers who refuse to disclose information it wants.

At the same time, governments around the world have been taking steps to share information with other jurisdictions in a bid to catch those who move money between countries or who use newer technologies to avoid taxes.

In her budget Tuesday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland moved to implement new international rules requiring more transparency in cryptocurrency transactions.

10 hours agoCBC News breaks down the biggest items in the new federal budget — and how the government is planning to pay for billions in new spending.

The requirement will apply to transactions starting in 2026 and the first exchange of information collected in Canada with other countries will take place in 2027.

The current limits on information gathering "impede the effectiveness of the CRA's compliance and enforcement actions," according to the budget.