A businessman with ties to northern Saskatchewan says it was clerical mistakes and not an attempt to cheat the government that recently landed him in hot water with the Canada Revenue Agency.
Glen Strong was recently ordered to pay a $37,500 fine and spend 60 days in jail for not filing tax returns on behalf of himself and his company, Jagg Enterprises.
Strong says it was a “snowball of many things” that resulted in him not filing the papers on time.
He explains some of the problems including dealing with a bookkeeper who wasn’t the proper person to be dealing with, and then handing the file over to a chartered accountant.
Strong says there was also a loss of documentation while the company was moving from Stony Rapids to Prince Albert.
He adds he has since filed the documents and appealed the case:
“I’m out of jail right now, and that is due to an appeal process. And my lawyer said the comment is I should have never been charged and we’ll carry on with the appeal and things will settle down.”
Strong adds his lawyer has also told him not to pay any of the fines until the case is over.
He says entrepreneurs often think they can handle the whole job themselves, but taxes require expertise.
Strong is the former board chair of Athabasca Basin Development, the business arm of seven communities situated in Saskatchewan’s far north.