Thank you, Madam Chair. I do have a motion. I move that the Department of Finance undertake the necessary audits and investigations required to ensure that revenues from self-reporting taxes are fully maximized and that the department report back to the Standing Committee on Government Operations with respect to its findings by August 31, 2014.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Well, it should be no surprise to the Cabinet and the Members in this room my continued journey on putting a lens on what I refer to as one of the largest loopholes in our taxation collection, I think, in modern history that we deal with in the Northwest Territories.
This loophole, this self-reporting loophole is exactly what it is. It’s a loophole. This self-reporting aspect is rarely monitored by government. We don’t have enough investigators to do the audits, and clearly, when audits are done, miraculously, money is found. This motion clearly sets the stage and the concern not only as one Member has but a number of Members have. This is a committee motion and so I hope that this will put a little bit more lens on the subject. The fact remains, within the audited statements of public accounts there was, indeed, a $1.7 million shortfall in tobacco tax collection alone in the fiscal year. This is an 11.2 percent drop in tax collection with very little explanation, very little data, and very little statistical data to support why there was a drop.
There was some degree of discussion here in the House recently about it with the Minister of Finance and I believe that there is work being done. However, that being said, this motion is very clear, and this motion is very specific not only to tobacco but all self-reporting taxes including such things as fuel tax, as well, which also had a fairly substantial delta in returns from the main estimates. Those are my comments.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Dolynny.
