CRA is extending the scope of its tax audit techniques by entering the field of data analysis. It is developing algorithms that will enable it to analyze external data such as real estate transactions and luxury items purchases and correlate that financial data with income reported on tax returns. CRA has recently begun receiving real time data of all international electronic money transfers in excess of $10,000 and is developing a computer application that will enable it to monitor more than 1 million transfers each month in real time. However since it is expected to take two or three years to get the computer program operational, tax auditors are currently going through a limited number of the transfers manually, and primarily based on specific country targets.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
