First, in reference to the tax gap, it is true that, more generally, we do studies that try to measure the tax gap, which is the gap between the taxes that would be paid if everything worked perfectly and the taxes that we actually collect. Obviously, it's a difficult calculation, but we do it, and we have a methodology that's well respected. Our estimate of the GST tax gap, which was done a few years ago, was, if I remember correctly, approaching $5 billion. In the context of the Auditor General's estimates, we're in the $200 million-plus; $250 million, I believe, is the updated number.
I make that point just because when we talk about compliance and ensuring a fair tax system, we at the CRA need to do a good risk-based assessment of where we need to focus our energies. It's germane in this topic because of the growth of this, as you've identified. We need to make sure that our risk assessments and our approaches are up to date and that they aren't reflecting a world that was in place 10 years ago but today's world.
That's been part one of our action plan: to really do a bunch of studies, engaging within the agency and looking internationally at what people are doing, to make sure that we understand how this area is growing and what would be our best compliance strategies. When it comes to compliance, we have a mix of things that we can do. We can educate people. We can nudge them. If we have the legislative authority, we can have enforcement actions. We've just been doing a lot of work to make sure that we have a better assessment of what the risks are and what we can do about them.
As I mentioned earlier—I won't elaborate—we are also looking at monitoring and tracking our activities here, pulling them apart from the broader compliance activities that we engage in.