Santa Claus lives and pays taxes in Canada, government affirms
Published Monday, December 24, 2018 7:00AM EST
Last Updated Monday, December 24, 2018 7:20AM EST
OTTAWA -- He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. No, it's not the head of the country’s spy agency, but another all-knowing Canadian: Santa Claus.
That’s right, according to various government departments and agencies, Good Ol' Saint Nicholas is a Canadian citizen who lives, and pays taxes here.
"As is the longstanding view of the Canadian government and Canadians from coast to coast to coast, Santa and Mrs. Claus are Canadian citizens and reside in the North Pole," a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen said in an email to CTVNews.ca.
The minister's office would not confirm whether or not the Clauses have the papers to prove it, citing privacy reasons.
Spokesperson Mathieu Genest said that the couple are always dressed in patriotic colours and that the Clauses "embody the compassionate, giving spirit of what it means to be Canadian."
The Canada Revenue Agency also says it has a trove of tax records on the notable couple from Canada’s North.
"The confidentiality provisions of the Income Tax Act prevent the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) from commenting on specific cases… However, on special exception, and with the kind permission of Mr. and Mrs. Claus (henceforth known as 'the Taxpayers'), the CRA has been permitted to share some confidential filing information," CRA spokesperson Michael Hanlon told CTVNews.ca in an emailed statement.
The CRA said the Clauses do benefit from the Northern Residents Deduction, meaning they've had to live in Northern Canada for more than six consecutive months.
"We are pleased to report that the Taxpayers have filed Canadian income tax returns on time every year since… well since as far back as CRA records go," Hanlon said.
Apparently the Clauses' filings have raised eyebrows at Canada's tax centre on a few occasions, including that they pay their employees in "holiday cheer"; have accepted payments in "cookies and carrots"; and have expensed a considerable amount for single-day travel and list-making materials.
The CRA also divulged that Santa Claus has teamed up with the tax agency to insure that all CRA email and phone scammers have been put on the 2018 naughty list.
Canada Post said it wouldn't speak for whether or not Mr. Claus is Canadian, but his address is. "We can assume that when Santa flies home after his night of work, he's flying home to his Canadian address in the North Pole" a Canada Post media relations spokesperson said in an email.
And of course, Canada is part of the binational North American Aerospace Defense Command, otherwise known as NORAD, which for decades has been tracking Santa's Christmas Eve journey across the globe.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/santa-claus-lives-and-pays-taxes-in-canada-government-affirms-1.4214728
https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.4216338.1544710423!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/image.jpg
Published Monday, December 24, 2018 7:00AM EST
Last Updated Monday, December 24, 2018 7:20AM EST
OTTAWA -- He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. No, it's not the head of the country’s spy agency, but another all-knowing Canadian: Santa Claus.
That’s right, according to various government departments and agencies, Good Ol' Saint Nicholas is a Canadian citizen who lives, and pays taxes here.
"As is the longstanding view of the Canadian government and Canadians from coast to coast to coast, Santa and Mrs. Claus are Canadian citizens and reside in the North Pole," a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen said in an email to CTVNews.ca.
The minister's office would not confirm whether or not the Clauses have the papers to prove it, citing privacy reasons.
Spokesperson Mathieu Genest said that the couple are always dressed in patriotic colours and that the Clauses "embody the compassionate, giving spirit of what it means to be Canadian."
The Canada Revenue Agency also says it has a trove of tax records on the notable couple from Canada’s North.
"The confidentiality provisions of the Income Tax Act prevent the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) from commenting on specific cases… However, on special exception, and with the kind permission of Mr. and Mrs. Claus (henceforth known as 'the Taxpayers'), the CRA has been permitted to share some confidential filing information," CRA spokesperson Michael Hanlon told CTVNews.ca in an emailed statement.
The CRA said the Clauses do benefit from the Northern Residents Deduction, meaning they've had to live in Northern Canada for more than six consecutive months.
"We are pleased to report that the Taxpayers have filed Canadian income tax returns on time every year since… well since as far back as CRA records go," Hanlon said.
Apparently the Clauses' filings have raised eyebrows at Canada's tax centre on a few occasions, including that they pay their employees in "holiday cheer"; have accepted payments in "cookies and carrots"; and have expensed a considerable amount for single-day travel and list-making materials.
The CRA also divulged that Santa Claus has teamed up with the tax agency to insure that all CRA email and phone scammers have been put on the 2018 naughty list.
Canada Post said it wouldn't speak for whether or not Mr. Claus is Canadian, but his address is. "We can assume that when Santa flies home after his night of work, he's flying home to his Canadian address in the North Pole" a Canada Post media relations spokesperson said in an email.
And of course, Canada is part of the binational North American Aerospace Defense Command, otherwise known as NORAD, which for decades has been tracking Santa's Christmas Eve journey across the globe.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/santa-claus-lives-and-pays-taxes-in-canada-government-affirms-1.4214728
https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.4216338.1544710423!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/image.jpg