The Offshore Tax Informant Program (OTIP) is the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) confidential whistleblower program that was put in place in January 2014 and that awards taxpayers with a percentage of collected taxes if they provide CRA with "specific and credible details" about a major international tax evasion case. CRA reports that as of April 30, 2016 it has received 2,984 calls to its confidential OTIP hotline, and 812 of those calls were from potential informants. CRA enters into binding written agreements with tipsters allowing an award for the offshore tax evasion tip if the potential assessment of taxes, excluding interest and penalties, exceeds $100,000. The percentage reward ranges from 5% to 15% of evaded taxes collected, depending on the nature and quality of information the tipster provided to the CRA. CRA reports that it has now entered into more than a dozen contracts with tipsters under the OTIP program. If you wish to enter into a tax tip agreement with CRA contact one of our experienced Toronto tax lawyers. If you have unreported offshore income or unreported offshore assets, and have not yet been contacted by a CRA auditor, speak to our Canadian tax law firm about a possible voluntary disclosure.
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