A local self-employed plumber was hit with a $40,100 fine after he was found guilty of tax evasion yesterday.
Wow, really? That's a lot of cannoli. How much was he evading?
Mazen Yassin Hashem, owner of A.B.A. Plumbing, pleaded guilty in a provincial court to failing to report an income of $197,421 from 2002 to 2004, says the Canada Revenue Agency. Court heard Hashem also didn't report income from rental properties he owned. The total federal tax evaded was $45,614 and $7,850 for GST.Now it seems from this story that the $197,421 doesn't include the rental property income, and is assumably only from his self-employed plumbing business. I believe that is an error, and that the 200 grand figure includes the rental properties: add on another few G's to that income and $45,614 looks a little low as a tax bill in that income bracket (though I'm sure he is entitled to a deduction or two)
Though it is possible that the income is solely from the plumbing business. Now why does that ring some bells?
"I don't know any plumbers who make $250,000 a year"It sure looks like plumbers can make pretty close to a quarter million. And if you're a taxpayer Hashem (rather than the tax evading Hashem), and you're making $197,421 a year, and you live in a jurisdiction where the new President has promised to tax the hell out of people making $250,000, what's your motivation to expand your business? Would you do as Joe Wurzlewhateverhisnameis thought, decide against buying out a company that would put you over the limit? Or would you decide to go on the lam and not pay taxes as Mazen Hashem did?
-Barack Obama
The big question, that President Monkey (and to his own extent, McCain) couldn't answer: what happens to an economy when 300,000,000 people every tax-time start pondering decisions like this?
