August 29, 2018 Calgary Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that Ricky Wayne Bekkerus was sentenced on August 27, 2018, to 12 months in jail and a court imposed fine of $837,859 on tax evasion charges. Mr. Bekkerus, a tax protester, pleaded guilty in Calgary Provincial Court, to both income tax and GST/HST tax evasion charges. The GST/HST charges resulted from him acting as a director of Fairdinkum Directional Services Ltd. (Fairdinkum) of Calgary, Alberta. In addition to the court imposed fine, Mr. Bekkerus will also have to pay the full amount of all taxes owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA.

During 2011 and 2012, Fairdinkum provided the services of Mr. Bekkerus as a technical sales advisor to a Calgary directional drilling company operating in Western Canada’s oil & gas industry. Despite charging and collecting $134,982 in GST during this two year period, Fairdinkum neither reported nor remitted any GST to the CRA. Mr. Bekkerus appropriated most of Fairdinkum’s revenue for himself and, by not filing his 2011 and 2012 T1 Income Tax and Benefit Returns, failed to report income totalling $2,512,219 that he received from Fairdinkum. A total of $702,877 in personal federal income tax was evaded by Mr. Bekkerus in 2011 and 2012. During this period Fairdinkum transferred $824,000 to a bank located in Cyprus, which Mr. Bekkerus had personal access to.

Mr. Bekkerus was in possession of materials that are associated with tax protesters and submitted documents to CRA containing tax protester type references and statements.

All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.

The CRA takes tax evasion very seriously. Tax evasion occurs when an individual or business wilfully ignores or disregards Canada’s tax laws. For example, those participating in tax evasion, under-report taxable income or claim expenses that are non-deductible or overstated. Those who do not fully comply with tax laws place an unfair burden on law-abiding taxpayers and businesses and jeopardize the integrity of Canada's tax base.

Tax protesters are individuals who support the false notion that they do not have to pay tax on the income they earn on the basis of a combination of legal and other arguments to place themselves beyond the reach of Canada’s tax laws. Participating in a tax protester scheme can have serious consequences including a criminal prosecution leading to jail time and fines. Between 2006 and 2017, 75 taxpayers/promoters from across Canada were convicted of tax offences related to tax schemes. This led to $7.15 million in court imposed fines and a total of 936 months of jail time awarded. To learn more, go to www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/lrt/txprtstrs-eng.html

The CRA has set up a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current on the CRA’s enforcement efforts.

Associated Links

Offshore Tax Informant Program
Informant Leads Program
Voluntary Disclosures Program

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Contacts

Joanne de Waal
Manager of communications
Canada Revenue Agency
587-475-3331

Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
613-948-8366
cra-arc.media@cra-arc.gc.ca