Quebec’s official tax collector, Revenu Québec, says the owner of a Laval-based club that catered to wife-swappers and swingers must pay a more than $24,000 penalty after being found guilty of not paying provincial sales and income taxes.
Alain Joyal, 61, a Montreal resident, pleaded guilty to three charges on Jan. 10 at the Palais de Justice de Laval. Joyal is listed in the provincial registry of businesses as the sole owner of Gestion 10 133 inc.
The holding company did business as Club Frenchkiss on Cunard St. in Laval’s industrial park, although the club is now closed. According to a Revenu Québec press release, the tax agency opened an investigation into Joyal’s business dealings after being tipped off by the Laval Police Department.
The LPD told the agency that Gestion 10 133 inc. was organizing swingers’ evenings where alcoholic beverages were being sold. Neither Gestion 10 133 inc. nor Club Frenchkiss had a Quebec liquor permit.
The investigation revealed that from 2014 to 2017, the company failed to report and to remit to Revenu Québec sales taxes that it collected, an amount calculated to be $17,325.32. As well, the company was found guilty of not paying the business income tax during the same period.
Apart from the sale of liquor, court documents revealed that Club Frenchkiss also derived revenue from membership fees, event tickets, renting out bedrooms in the club and fees for coat check services. During the time it was open, the club’s hours were from Thursday to Saturday evenings, and sometimes on Sundays for special events.
Court statements also suggest that the company wasn’t very good at record-keeping. The owner wasn’t using an efficient accounting system and the company’s accounting data was incomplete.
The LPD turned the matter over to Revenu Québec after executing a search warrant at Club Frenchkiss in 2017, based on an allegation that the club was operating in violation of local zoning requirements, which forbade operating a bar in that area. Consequently, nearly 800 bottles of liquor were seized by the police. As well, Revenu Québec executed a search warrant at the owner’s home on Île Bizard in Montreal in May 2018.
