'Curbsiding' may be costing Canadians millions
Illegal car selling activity going on throughout Canada may be costing the country's taxpayers millions of dollars.
According to the Toronto Star, the illegal car selling practice is called "curbsiding" and crooked salespeople engage in it to avoid paying sales and property taxes.
"Curbsiders" are people who illegally trade in buying and selling vehicles by avoiding paying for sales taxes. These people buy a car from a private seller and instead of registering it in their own name before they re-sell it, they leave their name off the registration and fill in the new owner's name. Industry experts tell the paper that this practice saves the curbsider thousands of dollars because it helps them evade federal income taxes.
Bob Beattie, Executive Director of the Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario, tells the Toronto Star that this winds up costing everyone else through increases in taxes due to lost revenue.
"We figure it could easily be in the neighborhood of $300 million for all of Canada," Beattie told the paper.
It also doesn't help lower auto insurance rates, which are impacted as a result of fraudulent activity.