Photo by Vince Fedoroff
CORKING THE BUSINESS – Sheriffs seize the Roadhouse Saloon early this afternoon for alleged non-payment of income taxes.
Sheriffs order the suds to cease flowing at Roadhouse
The Roadhouse Bar and Grill and its offsales building have been closed, with alcohol and cash from both the pub and its offsales premises seized early this afternoon.
The Roadhouse Bar and Grill and its offsales building have been closed, with alcohol and cash from both the pub and its offsales premises seized early this afternoon.
The territory's sheriff's office closed the longtime downtown establishment, posting the Notice of Seizure on the doors of both buildings on behalf of the Federal Court of Canada.
The notice cites Federal Court files that fall under the Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act.
Information on the Federal Court's website doesn't describe what the alleged violations were.
However, it notes the first documents in the case were filed on April 3 with the request for seizure and sale filed on May 8, the same date the writ was issued.
It was a quiet scene in the Roadhouse's parking lot this afternoon, with sheriffs overseeing the situation while cases of beer and other alcohol were loaded into a truck.
When someone affiliated with the bar pulled into the parking lot, she immediately said she had no comment for the media. She then proceeded to speak with sheriffs who were there.
A Revenue Canada spokesperson said from Vancouver shortly after the seizure that officials do not comment on specific cases.
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Comments (29)
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Josey Wales on Jul 13, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Hey Art...I'm picking up what your putting down. Great burgers, I do not "partake" in the juice...but I'd still go there for a burger from time to time.
Last year I decided to not go there anymore, after hearing one more vowel too much outta the cranky one.
Now even if I felt like getting talked down to whilst I feasted on said good burger...I cannot...as someone didn't comply with the rules.
...allegedly
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tracy allen on Jul 13, 2013 at 12:11 pm
Like most things in life there are two sides to every story. Whether this situation was caused by a deliberate act or by a series of miscommunications is only known by the direct parties involved. What amazes, disturbs and disgusts me the most is the people who feel it is acceptable to not only provide their opinions but make snide and rude comments on the owner's lifestyle without having the balls to sign their real names. Way to be responsible for your actions.
And for the record, my dealings with the owner - she is a great person.
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art on Jul 12, 2013 at 3:47 pm
In reply to: "Don't be ignorant"
I only asked a question regarding the tax situation and did not make any "ignorant" comment regarding it. I only made a true and accurate comment / question about a very rude and insulting staff member, if you knew what you were talking about you would agree. AS does, and many others too.
BTW IGNORANT is Lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.
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Too bad, so sad. on Jul 12, 2013 at 11:18 am
Max Mack:
Have a read of the article, particularly this line:
'The notice cites Federal Court files that fall under the Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act.'
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Clayton on Jul 12, 2013 at 8:56 am
Gee, really liked going there for a brew! Good beer, food and sports!
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Max Mack on Jul 12, 2013 at 7:20 am
People are assuming that this is a clear-cut case of the owner/business not paying taxes. This may not be the case. Things are not always black-and-white.
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Frances on Jul 12, 2013 at 5:41 am
The owner has no problem paying for a massive house, truck and recreational vehicles. Maybe she should sell some of these off and pay her bills.
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Play by the rules on Jul 11, 2013 at 3:55 am
No Sympathy! Everyone else has to pay taxes, so should the owner of the bar & off sales should be no different! There is no loss to the community when a Bar or Off sales shuts down, plenty more of them out there, and I mean Plenty more!!!
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Stan B on Jul 10, 2013 at 8:20 am
john jack: You most certainly do use services.
You are posting on this site via the internet which connectivity was funded with tax dollars.
You use public roads to travel, funded by tax dollars.
You use publicly funded hospitals, TV and radio.
The list goes on.
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CJ on Jul 10, 2013 at 8:16 am
It's not the first time I've noticed this disturbing tendency to keep on kicking. Lots of people live a life with no mistakes in it, according to themselves.
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Dog kicker on Jul 9, 2013 at 3:14 pm
Kick a dog while it's down. Keepin it classy Whitehorse. Karma is a B!?$&.
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mike madder on Jul 9, 2013 at 12:53 pm
There sure seems to be some sympathetic people in regards to this matter. Only I don't understand why this woman hasn't paid taxes for years and has quite comfortably charged the taxes to all you sympathetic patrons. The Yukon offers everyone vital jobs and in doing so to pay for our territories up keeps and numerous services. We all agree to pay taxes. We don't like to pay taxes but to have what we have here in the Yukon we must so when someone thinks they are special or indifferent than the rest of society I believe that this may be the reality check she needs to remind her that nobody rides for free. So great job by the Government for not letting this establishment ignore our laws and hold them accountable.
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john jack on Jul 9, 2013 at 6:35 am
Marten I don't get any services where I live so don't tax me!!!!
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john jack on Jul 9, 2013 at 6:33 am
No big loss before the war. Read history before you yap. They were supposed to come after the war!! FACT!!!!!
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Dog walker on Jul 8, 2013 at 10:41 am
How many here would skip out on a bar tab? Not many I suspect.
The owner should have paid taxes regularly like the rest of us rather than living the Copper Ridge dream and lived within her means.
The Roadhouse was a real dive, I'd love to see that pace levelled and a nice Pub replace it.
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AS on Jul 8, 2013 at 10:37 am
Glad they are closed. They had the worst and most rude waitress I have ever had.
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June Jackson on Jul 8, 2013 at 9:49 am
I don't care what the business is.. retail, liquor, sports.. every time a business closes its bad for the entire community. Jobs lost mean less money flowing..stress impacts health.. yeah, folks will go somewhere else to drink I guess.. but each place is unique and I am always sorry when a business goes down.
As for a tax seizure.. this Federal government has so many mistakes and bad decisions on the go it's only because of the distances to be traveled that we don't have a civil disturbance happening.
Just a cheeky comment.. but..did the owners of the Roadhouse ask the City to bail them out? Maybe they could have gotten a couple of million 'flow through' money...
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GZ on Jul 8, 2013 at 7:32 am
Glad to hear the off sales is closed. It is a haven for under age to obtain alcohol, which is well known yet nothing is ever done about it. Glad they didn't make their taxes.
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martin oreste on Jul 7, 2013 at 5:09 am
johnjack: when there were not taxes; we didn't ask for services.
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CJ on Jul 7, 2013 at 4:21 am
I just wanted to clarify that I was directing a comment above to "No big loss", it wasn't a comment on the business.
It's a very distressing situation and I have sympathy for the owners.There's a very distorted perception of the local economy here, in my opinion.
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Groucho d'North on Jul 7, 2013 at 3:13 am
They say the only two things in life we can count on are death and taxes...and they are working on a cure for death; Taxes - not so much
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Don't be ignorant on Jul 6, 2013 at 12:34 pm
Art - what an ignorant thing to say. Everyone has an opinion on the situation, but targeting a single person who is simply trying to raise her kids who JUST LOST HER JOB is IGNORANT. Tell her to her face and don't use a newspaper blog to rip into someone you obviously know NOTHING about.
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art on Jul 5, 2013 at 4:22 pm
when you fail to pay or file taxes do they give you notice regarding its absence or do they just come in and seize the property?
PS Where will that grumpy bartender (S.T) go to insult customers now?
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Just Say'in on Jul 5, 2013 at 11:38 am
Going to see more of this soon. Lots of businesses barely making it these days. Taxes up Power up insurance up Labour up Heat up. But the government knows best.
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CJ on Jul 5, 2013 at 9:42 am
no big loss, that's true. As I understand it, taxes were brought in during WWII as a temporary emergency measure. I'm sure they'll lift them any day now.
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Grease McGee on Jul 5, 2013 at 5:37 am
"No Law"
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No big loss on Jul 5, 2013 at 5:33 am
@johnjack: "There never used to be taxes..." in what century? Lol
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woodcutter on Jul 5, 2013 at 5:11 am
Another case of not paying your taxes. Should have kept talking and made some efforts to discuss a payment plan. Seen many cases of small businesses with tax problems.
I wonder if revenue canada will sell me the beer at 10 cents on the dollar ?
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johnjack on Jul 5, 2013 at 2:23 am
There never used to be taxes now the gov seizes and throws you in jail. That is worse than extortion. time to do something about the government military ways. This is not Canada anymore!!! Taxes are actually against the Law if you read the queens charter.