Time’s Up: CRA’s 100 Day Mandate for Improvement

After years of frustration on the part of tax professionals and taxpayers alike, the Finance Minister ordered the Canada Revenue Agency to clean up its act in 100 days. Specifically, the improvement plan was to run from September 2 through December 11. Finance Minister and Minister of National Revenue, Francoise-Phillippe Champagne instructed CRA to fix “unacceptable wait times and service delays.” Time’s up this week and CRA has released an update on progress. What gets measured, gets done. Let’s see what CRA’s metrics show. 

In the first article of our Bill C-60 series in our May 22 issue of KBR, we looked at the proposed amending of the audit process. This week we examine the changes to the tax court rules.

Do you run an unincorporated small business from your home or office?

Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd v. Her Majesty The Queen [2013] SCC 29 An important and eliciting tax decision was recently released by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) analyzing the difference between liabilities and embedded obligations as well as the role of tax symmetry in the Income Tax Act (the Act).

On April 29, the Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, introduced Bill C-60 to Parliament which proposes to implement certain provisions of the March 21, 2013 federal budget.

Part of the Bank of Canada’s Spring Review, released on May 16, included an article titled “Explaining Canada’s Regional Migration Patterns”, which provides interesting data on the effect of demographic migration on economic policies in Canada. It also provides, therefore, important information for professional advisors who wish to more strategically define growth in their practices over the long run.

Unhappy with your dealings with a CRA Auditor? The Taxpayers' Ombudsman can help when the relationship is fraught with communications issues between the taxpayer and the auditor.