For more than a decade my colleagues and I in the Conservative Party have been promoting the need for taxpayers to have more rights in their dealings with the Canada Revenue Agency. On May 28th, this goal was realized when Canada’s Revenue Minister, the Honourable Carol Skelton announced both a Taxpayers Bill of Rights and the establishment of a Taxpayers’ Ombudsman.

Canadian taxpayers and small business people can now feel even more confident and supported in their dealings with the national tax agency. Not only will they have guarantees of service, but if there is a problem in receiving high quality service, they can lodge a complaint and have it reviewed by an office that is at arms length and independent from the Agency.

The new Taxpayers Bill of Rights -- consisting of 15 rights with an additional five Commitments to Small Businesses -- is strong evidence of the high standard of service that our government will provide through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

SUMMARY OF RIGHTS

It’s important to recognize the significance of these rights and what this will mean to you as taxpayers. Specifically, you have the right to:

• lodge a service complaint and expect to be provided with an explanation of our findings;
• be treated professionally, courteously and fairly;
• have the CRA minimize your costs for you to comply with your tax obligations;
• to expect the CRA to be accountable; and
• to consumer protections and to be warned of questionable tax schemes by the CRA in a timely manner.

Even in reviewing this small sample of rights it is clear that this is a giant step in the right direction to bring accountability to taxpayers. (The full listing of rights is included at the end of this article.)

TAXPAYER OMBUDSMAN

The Taxpayer Ombudsman will be appointed later this year and I am pleased that he or she will provide taxpayers with a final, independent and impartial review of their service complaints. The Ombudsman will be there to uphold the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the Commitment to Small Business and provide recommendations to the Minister. With the announcement by Canada’s New Government on May 28th, the CRA has strengthened its commitment to respect the rights of each and every taxpayer in this country.

But it gets better. Small business can also expect to benefit. Building on the Bill of Rights are five distinct commitments that will guide the way that CRA treats Canada’s biggest job creator – small business. These include commitments to:

• administer the tax system in a way that minimizes the costs of compliance for small business. Your time and efforts are valuable and will be respected;

• to work with all levels of government to streamline service, minimize cost and reduce the compliance burden (as a reduction in administrative and paper burden, in addition to the coordination of services across the board makes things easier for small business); and
• conduct outreach activities that will help small business comply with legislation administered by the CRA. You can expect the CRA to help you understand your obligations and entitlements so your time is not wasted.
I am confident that taxpayers in my riding are going to benefit greatly from these new rights and protections. Previous governments have never taken taxpayers as seriously as this Conservative Government has, and continues to do.

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For more information, please contact:
Leon Benoit, MP
1-800-463-1194 / (780) 763-6130

or visit: www.cra.gc.ca




LIST OF TAXPAYER RIGHTS

1. Receive entitlements and to pay no more and no less than what is required by law.
2. Service in both official languages.
3. Privacy and confidentiality.
4. A formal review and a subsequent appeal.
5. Be treated professionally, courteously and fairly.
6. Complete, accurate, clear and timely information.
7. As an individual, not to pay income tax amounts in dispute before you have had an impartial review.
8. Have the law applied consistently.
9. Lodge a service complaint and to be provided with an explanation of our findings.
10. Have the costs of compliance taken into account when administering tax legislation.
11. Expect us to be accountable.
12. Relief from penalties and interest under tax legislation because of extraordinary circumstances.
13. Expect us to publish our service standards and report annually.
14. Expect us to warn you about questionable tax schemes in a timely manner.
15. Be represented by a person of your choice.

LIST OF SMALL BUSINESS RIGHTS

1. Administering the tax system in a way that minimizes the costs of compliance for small businesses.
2. Working with all governments to streamline service, minimize cost, and reduce the compliance burden.
3. Providing service offerings that meet the needs of small businesses.
4. Conducting outreach activities that help small businesses comply with the legislation we administer.
5. Explaining how we conduct our business with small businesses.