Ex-councillor Golden being sued for unpaid taxes

Former Winnipeg city councillor and mayoral candidate Al Golden is in financial trouble again, with the federal government suing him for nearly $1.9 million in unpaid taxes.

Ottawa alleges that Golden has not paid taxes related to his former business, a Manitoba numbered entity that owned the Transcona Country Club, according to a statement of claim obtained by CBC News.

Golden started a new business, the Transcona Country Club Ltd., to avoid paying taxes for the old club, the federal government alleges in its claim.

By conveying the business of the old Transcona Country Club business entity to the new one, Golden and his directors "intended to defeat, hinder or delay the plaintiff in collecting or defraud the plaintiff of the amount payable under the original assessment or the reassessment," the claim reads in part.

The old country club's amount payable under the Canada Revenue Agency's original assessment was $483,808. The last payment was made in 2006.

Then in 2006, the agency reassessed the old country club's income tax, penalties and interest payable as more than $1.3 million for the period spanning between 1996 and 2002, according to the court document.

No payments made

No payments have beenmade or collected on the originally assessed amount or the reassessed amount since March 2006, the government claims.

Ottawa is now seeking $1.896 million, along with interest and costs.

Reached by phone in Denver on Tuesday, Golden told CBC News he did not want to comment.

Golden was the Winnipeg city councillor for St. Vital from 1988 until 2000, whenhe was found guiltyof filing a false assessment on his 1989 income tax return and failing to declare $727,000 in income.

Golden resigned his city council seat following that conviction.

He also ran for mayor in 1980, 2002 and 2004 but lost each time, most recently to current Mayor Sam Katz.