CRA’s Callback Service for Tax Pros Pilot

Are you a tax professional with years of experience? Have you ever felt frustrated after calling the CRA, having spent hours on hold, wasting your client’s or employer’s time, only to speak to CRA agents who aren’t qualified to answer your questions? The Auditor General of Canada was equally displeased in a scathing report last fall on wait times and accuracy levels at the CRA. Now a new CRA callback service may come to the rescue this tax season. Here is my experience with the pilot project so far:

Approximately 98% of Canadian business are considered to be “small to medium” sized, and CRA is hoping that personal visits with these enterprises can help to cut red tape, errors, and omissions for an overall smoother, penalty-free relationship with the tax man.

If you have ever wanted to be a hero, consider the gratitude that comes from helping business owners understand how to steer clear of trouble on a tax audit or making sure seniors don’t overpay their September 15 or December 15 quarterly tax instalment.

A new report entitled Haves and Have-Nots, was released by the Broadbent Institute from customized reports prepared for it by Statistics Canada from the Survey of Financial Security. 

Resolution to seven key issues are required to make the RTPP (Registration of Tax Preparer Program) a success.

What’s a qualified tax efficient retirement income planner worth? A lot, it turns out, especially to clients who want to more effectively build net worth for retirement, but also to those who are frustrated with high taxes on their pension income and the lack of freedom that comes with eroded purchasing power on their savings.  

The sweet spot in wealth management statistically lies with the 55 plus crowd, whose net worth is the highest in Canada, but they are increasingly elusive, spending summers at the lake, and winters in the south.