Report on Plans and Priorities 2016-17

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A Message from the Commissioner

As Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), I am pleased to present the Agency's Report on Plans and Priorities 2016-17. This plan outlines what the CRA and its employees will do over the next three years to advance the Agency's corporate priorities of service, compliance, integrity and security, innovation, and people.

Our approach takes into account the planning environment which includes responding to factors such as the rapid evolution of technology, the growth of digital commerce and payment systems, and the emergence of new forms of economic activity.

For the CRA, service remains a key priority. Like most organizations, both private and public, the CRA is using advanced technology to support and facilitate a number of service improvements. Already the vast majority of individuals and businesses file their taxes electronically and, building on this solid foundation, we will continue leveraging technology to expand our digital service options and improve the service experience of Canadians. This includes making improvements to our established services so they continue to meet client expectations. For example, we are expanding the Auto-fill my return service to enable more taxpayers to automatically populate parts of their returns with tax information from the CRA.

We are also revising our correspondence to taxpayers such as T1 (individual) forms and benefits statements to make sure it is easily understood. In addition, we are expanding our Community Volunteer Income Tax Program to offer assistance to more Canadians who need help filing basic tax returns.

Improving Canadians' service experience is one side of the coin; the flip side is making sure Canadians comply with their obligations in accordance with tax laws. Evolving technology is having a significant impact on our approach to compliance. Data analysis and business intelligence are providing us with better insight into taxpayer behaviours, allowing us to spend less time and effort on lower risk groups of taxpayers, and focus our resources on dealing with deliberate non-compliance. In April 2016, we will create a new branch to better focus on combatting national and international tax avoidance and evasion.

With more and more Canadian taxpayers choosing online services, protecting the integrity and security of taxpayer information is critical. This plan outlines some of the steps we are taking to enhance security measures and mitigate potential risks including the Data Security Initiative, the Identity and Access Management project, and the National Audit Trail System Modernization project. These actions are supported by the Agency's new Code of integrity and professional conduct, which sets out the values CRA employees are expected to uphold and guides their conduct.

Finally, this plan looks at internal factors that will impact the success of the CRA's plans going forward: innovation and people. Evolving technology has sped up the pace of change and intensified the need to be quick to adapt. Our updated Agency Workforce Plan takes into consideration the plans and priorities outlined in this document, and will help make sure we maintain and build a knowledgeable workforce with the agility needed to meet current and future requirements. The CRA makes it a priority to support our knowledgeable and experienced workforce in meeting rapidly evolving challenges.

I am proud of this plan and believe it positions us well for the next three years. It will enable us to maintain a diverse and high-performing workforce able to provide excellent service to clients, safeguard compliance, secure and protect the trust of Canadians, and generate innovative ideas for continuous improvement.

Original signed

Andrew Treusch
Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency

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