Looks like the fight against Uber in Montreal has stepped up, as this morning at 10AM local time, 20 investigators and computer analysts from Revenu Quebec raided the company’s two offices—one in Old Montreal and another in Pointe-St-Charles—armed with two search warrants obtained under the Tax Adminstration Act.
According to a French press release (Google Translation):
Revenu Québec has reasonable grounds to believe that offenses have been committed against tax laws. Searches conducted today aim to collect relevant evidence relating to the ongoing investigation and to such offenses.
Revenu Québec a des motifs raisonnables de croire que des infractions ont été commises à l’encontre de lois fiscales. Les perquisitions effectuées aujourd’hui ont pour objectif de recueillir des éléments de preuve pertinents relatifs à l’enquête en cours et à ces infractions.
Revenu Québec spokesman Stéphane Dion told CBC News “Revenu Québec has reason to believe that tax fiscal law has been broken. So today we are searching to get more evidence.” No charges have been laid against Uber at this time.
Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie Heath responded in a statement to say “We look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders in Quebec to foster innovation, create jobs, and provide consumers with much needed affordable transit options.”
Just over two weeks ago, the City of Montreal announced it had impounded 40 vehicles from Uber drivers earlier this year. The city and the province of Quebec sees UberX, which allows passengers to hail drivers in private vehicles via their smartphones, as a form of illegal transport.
