OTTAWA: Wrongfully declared dead by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)? Unhappy with the treatment you’re getting from the CRA?
Citizens who are tired of fighting the taxmen and looking for help to resolve complaints have somewhere to turn — the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman.
As millions of Canadians scramble to file their taxes by Monday’s deadline (May 2 this year because April 30 was on a weekend), the small and relatively unknown office in downtown Ottawa is mandated with looking into taxpayers’ complaints over the CRA.
The office has published a long-promised report on the CRA wrongfully declaring taxpayers dead, while looking into issues such as fairness when the CRA comes knocking and access to the agency’s customer service call centres.
The taxpayers’ ombudsman is an adviser to the minister of national revenue, but works arm’s length from the government. The office was created in 2008 and operates independently of the CRA.
