GST Scandal

Again, one sees something new everyday. I still can't believe that I would live to see this day: 7th February 2006, when the first person was convicted of stealing from the state by evading Goods and Service Tax (GST). The perpetrator, as a result, was fined $115,000, three times the amount evaded, on top of being jailed for 3 months.

When we first learnt about the harsh penalties for GST offences in class, we had a good laugh and thought that no one in the right mind would have passed such a law (though it is obviously used as a deterrent), not less to break it. At that time, we thought it would not even be worth the effort to doctor the claims (either by inflating the sales or making purposeful errors in totaling up the figures; I mean there is only so many ways), not to even mention the vast difference in monetary benefit and penalty. Also to us, student accountants, committing frauds for anything less than $1 million would be a shame, a scandal: this was put to us from the start. And there is no way to cheat the state of $1 million worth of GST according to the regulations. The state has done their sum, I guess.

PS: A lot of time, an accountant would not mind having his name struck off the registry for $1 million, with which one would gladly retire. Well, everyone has a price tag. The question is just how much.

Disclaimer: The above are just opinions of an individual, which are not representative of any accountant or body.