On June 26, 2013, the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue and the Minister for the Atlantic Opportunities Agency, announced the addition of a new right to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
What is the Taxpayer Bill of Rights?
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights was launched in 2007 in order to demonstrate the Government of Canada’s firm commitment to fairness for taxpayers. It is a set of sixteen rights confirming that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will serve taxpayers with a high degree of accuracy, professionalism, courteousness, and fairness. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights also includes the CRA Commitment to Small Business, a five-part statement through which the CRA pledges to create a competitive, dynamic, business environment in which Canadian businesses will thrive. The rights recognize the role the CRA can play in minimizing the compliance burden, specifically the amount of paperwork involved in complying with the tax system.
What is the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman’s Office role?
The Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman was established to ensure that the CRA’s service to taxpayers respects the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and to provide an impartial review of unresolved service complaints from taxpayers.
What does the new 16th right say?
The new right to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights gives taxpayers the right to lodge a service complaint and request a formal review without fear of reprisal.
What has the CRA done to ensure that its employees act with integrity?
The new right builds on many existing measures the CRA has implemented to support public confidence in the integrity of the tax system. The CRA launched its Integrity Framework in 2012 to ensure a comprehensive, holistic approach to integrity management and to support accountability and responsibility within the CRA. The framework includes activities to communicate, monitor, and evaluate integrity standards within the CRA.
All CRA employees are subject to a strict Code of Ethics and Conduct and conflict of interest guidelines. These codes, which are terms and conditions of employment, reinforce the CRA’s collective commitment to serve the public according to its corporate values – integrity, professionalism, respect, and cooperation.
Canadians also benefit from strong protections under the Privacy Act, the Income Tax Act, and the Excise Tax Act, among others. If CRA employees violate these protections, they are breaking the law, and are held accountable.
What do taxpayers do if they have a disagreement with the CRA?
Taxpayers can file a complaint to the CRA and be assured that it will be fully and impartially investigated. The CRA is committed to making it easier for Canadians to interact with it. Accordingly, the CRA has established clear, impartial avenues to file a tax appeal or service complaint. For more information, go to www.cra.gc.ca/resolvingdisputes.
What is the CRA doing to ensure taxpayers do not fear reprisal upon reporting a disagreement with the CRA?
Taxpayers who lodge a service complaint or request a formal review of a CRA decision can be confident that they will be treated impartially, receive the benefits, credits, and refunds to which they are entitled, and pay no more and no less than what is required by law.
Any allegation of reprisal will be referred directly to an investigation office located at CRA Headquarters. This will ensure that the investigation is conducted independently of the office associated with the complaint. The CRA’s discipline policy is also being amended to recognize reprisal as an abuse of authority that is subject to disciplinary measures up to and including termination. The CRA takes all allegations of employee misconduct seriously and ensures they are investigated in an independent and impartial manner.
Taxpayers should not fear reprisal. Having said this, the CRA is required to apply the law and relevant CRA guidelines and policies, which may include the charging of penalties, or require the payment of tax debts. When CRA employees act in accordance with the law, these do not constitute acts of reprisal.
