Files on 16 Million Canadian Taxpayers Reported Borrowed

A tax office employee took home the nation’s tax records because he wanted to use the files on 16 million Canadians to launch a business tracking down dormant bank accounts, the Toronto Star said Friday.

The newspaper identified the man as a 26-year-old assessment officer in Toronto.

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police official said Friday he could not confirm the report. The officer said police are still investigating the case that has alarmed Parliament because of the ease with which taxpayer confidentiality was breached.

Revenue Canada, the country’s tax collecting agency, has said an employee was suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. The agency did not name the employee.

Revenue Minister Elmer Mackay informed Parliament on Monday that the personal records of virtually every Canadian taxpayer were taken from a Toronto district office on Oct. 30. Within hours of his announcement, the files were returned to police by a lawyer reportedly acting on behalf of a suspect.

Police have said charges of theft or possession of stolen goods might be filed.

The Toronto Star said the assessment officer told the newspaper Wednesday that he never duplicated the files and did not use them “to the detriment of Canadians.”