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A new program at the Canada Revenue Agency that promises to pay informants who help track down tax cheats — a first in Canada — has generated a flurry of more than 1,000 calls leading to nearly 100 active cases, the Financial Post has learned.

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Under our tax system, Canadians can land in jail for a variety of tax offences but the chances of actually going to prison are very small and may become even more unlikely if the Canada Revenue Agency acts on its plan to cut auditors in 2015.





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Some 300 of the initial calls were from “informants,” according to the CRA.

“The early call and submission statistics indicate that there is interest on the part of informants to participate in this program and we are actively pursuing a number of files,” said Philippe Brideau, a spokesperson for the tax agency.

The CRA established the incentive-backed program in January to crack down on international tax evasion and “aggressive tax avoidance.”