ACQUITTAL DUE TO TAX PAIN

A business owner was charged with failing to file his tax returns as required by the Excise Tax Act. The amount of tax owing was sufficiently large that the Crown was seeking jail upon conviction, despite the fact that this was a first time offender. Charges under the Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act can become extremely technical - which this one did. Moreover, in some instances the penalties can be extensive, and the Court can even prohibit you from operating a corporation. This would absolutely financially devastate most business owners. Regardless, a trial was conducted. After pouring through what seemed to be an endless supply of forms, Mr. Lewandowski argued that a technical requirement under the Act had not been met. While the Crown was able to file most of their case, Mr. Lewandowskis objection prohibited the Crown from being able to file the one, seminal piece of information required for a conviction. Without this lynchpin, the Crown case concerning the clients intention to evade rested on tenuous ground. Thus, the door was opened for the client to testify. The charges were dismissed. The client continues to run his business and now has an accountant assisting him to avoid any further misunderstandings.