Calls are growing in Ottawa for the federal government to enact a “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” following an Auditor General’s Report that was highly critical of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Opposition politicians in the nation’s capital are championing a Taxpayer Bill of Rights after revelations that CRA screens and blocks more than half the telephone inquiries it receives from Canadian citizens and business owners. The Financial Post newspaper has supported the idea too with an editorial calling on greater transparency and enhanced rights for taxpayers in Canada.
“In the interests of promoting fairness for the middle class, Canada should legislatively enact the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, give it some teeth and force of law, and ensure fair tax administration,” wrote The Financial Post this week.
The CRA requires all taxpayers in Canada to declare their income honestly. However, the federal agency has not lived up to its obligation for openness, honesty and transparency, according to a critical Auditor General’s Report. Currently, Canada does not have a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Instead, Canada has an unlegislated declaration by the CRA of 16 so-called “rights,” which have no force of law. One of these is that the CRA will provide timely and accurate information to taxpayers. The evidence in a recent Auditor General’s Report suggests otherwise. Taxpayers are not getting timely information, and, in many cases, are being given the wrong information by the CRA, concluded the Auditor General’s Office following an investigation.
The CRA processes about 30 million tax returns annually, and operates nine call centres across Canada to give individuals and businesses information about their taxes, credits, and benefits. The online services and telephone call centres are the primary ways for the public to obtain tax information. However, as the Auditor General’s Report to Parliament reveals, the CRA blocks more than half of the calls that it receives (about 29 million out of 53.5 million) from reaching either a tax agent or the automated self-service system. Instead, callers receive either a busy signal, or a message to go to a website or call back later.
Also noted in the Auditor General’s Report was the fact that when the CRA did respond to taxpayer calls, it gave taxpayers the wrong answer almost 30 per cent of the time. Taxpayers who acted on the erroneous information would file incorrect tax returns, and consequently would face tax assessments, interest charges and possible penalties. Under the law, a Canadian taxpayer is responsible for any inaccuracies in his or her tax return, even if the error is due to incorrect information provided by CRA.
Related Stories
