CRA pressured to reduce payment errors

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) needs to improve service to taxpayers whose payments are misallocated, says Canada’s Taxpayers’ Ombudsman, Mr. J. Paul Dube.

Many taxpayers have multiple accounts with the CRA, for example. So, they may have personal income tax accounts spanning several years, as well as corporate accounts and goods and services tax/ harmonized sales tax accounts.

“Many taxpayers have told us the payments they made to the CRA were misallocated, meaning the payments were not applied to the intended account,” says Dube.

Read: Keep tax planning at the forefront

He adds, “As a result, some were wrongly assessed interest and penalty charges, while others were subjected to CRA collections demands.”

In a report entitled Getting it Right, he makes a number of recommendations intended to help the CRA reduce payment allocation errors, as well as educate taxpayers on how to avoid making errors when making payments. Read the report.

In the meantime, help your clients determine which accounts they hold, and if fees or payments were correctly assigned. By offering tax services, you’ll learn more about your clients’ finances and boost your value.

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