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fter a three-year battle, Home Depot Canada has complied with a court order issued on behalf of the Canada Revenue Agency to disclose the retailer’s list of customers using its commercial credit card program. In an effort to crack down on the underground economy, the CRA is targeting contractors to determine who is being paid under the table.

Home Depot Canada was the last holdout among home improvement retailers that were instructed to comply. The campaign started three years ago, and in August 2017, RONA was a holdout, as well, taking its fight to the Supreme Court to resist the CRA’s demand for a list of its commercial clients.

The Canada Revenue Agency wants to verify that purchases made by contractors from various home improvement dealers match their tax declarations. Other retailers, including BMR and Patrick Morin, agreed to provide similar lists early on.

According to a report by Statistics Canada, the underground economy in Canada was estimated at $51.6 billion in

2016, representing 2.5 percent of GDP. In 2016, three industries together accounted for more than half of underground economic activity: residential construction (26.6 percent), retail trade (13.5 percent) and undeclared tips among workers in accommodation and food services (12.1 percent).

In the past, federal tax credits played an important role in eliminating some of the underground economy. Following the worldwide recession a decade ago, the feds instituted a tax credit for home repairs and renovations. Homeowners could get back 15 percent of eligible expenditures on home renovations between $1,000 and $10,000 made during the 2009 tax year.