Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.
Principal Issues: CRA's intention to leverage third parties
Position: General comments
Reasons: See below
2013 STEP CANADA ROUNDTABLE, June 10 & 11, 2013
QUESTION 14. 2013 Federal Budget Follow Up
The 2012 Federal Budget included a description of the actions being taken by federal government organizations to find efficiencies in their operations and re-engineer the way they do business. (endnote 1) The discussion related to the CRA noted that the Agency will leverage the expertise of the external tax profession. Can the CRA shed any light on what this statement might mean in the context of tax administration?
CRA Response
The CRA has developed Vision 2020, which is a suite of nine strategic directions to strengthen and modernize how we administer tax and benefits for Canadians. Extending our reach through third parties, including tax practitioners, is one of the levers required to deliver Vision 2020. We can elaborate on three examples in which the Agency is using strategic relationships to expand our ability to deliver results.
In a broader context, the Government has been taking action to reduce the red tape burden on Canadian businesses including forming the Red Tape Reduction Commission in January 2011 composed of parliamentarians and members of the private sector. The mandate of the commission included reducing the compliance burden on businesses, especially small and medium businesses. The Commission solicited feedback through consultations and 12 roundtable sessions with Canadians and businesses between January and March 2011. In January 2012, the Commission released its final report in which it provided recommendations on how government departments and agencies could address the irritants identified by small businesses on a long-term basis. The CRA conducted its own consultations to prioritize its commitments and develop action plans to reduce or eliminate the compliance burden on business. While the Red Tape Reduction Commission involves multiple departments and agencies across the government, the CRA was specifically acknowledged in the 2013 Budget for introducing measures that improve services at the CRA and reduce the burden placed on small businesses. The CRA's goal is to consult with stakeholders regularly.
Within the Income Tax Rulings Directorate (ITRD), we have undertaken an initiative to introduce a new technical publication product to update the information currently found in the income tax interpretation bulletins and to introduce improved web functionality. The new publications are known as the Income Tax Folios. The first 11 folios were rolled out on March 28, 2013. (endnote 2) ITRD is partnering with various tax associations to deliver 19 additional folios in the next six months. More tax associations have indicated that they are also eager to partner with us this fall to work on additional folios. We are also building stronger relationships with the Canadian academic research community. For example, Master's degree students in tax at the Université de Sherbrooke can develop a folio as their thesis.
ITRD has been working closely with the Joint Committee to explore suggestions for streamlining and increasing the effectiveness of services it provides, such as issuing rulings and other technical publications. For example, ITRD and the Joint Committee are considering the merits of pre-ruling consultations for a fee. Other suggestions include having Joint Committee representatives who participated in groups which worked on the analysis of technical changes, assist with educating CRA staff on those changes, continue to identify issues related to the changes, and provide input on assessing practices. More details will be provided as these initiatives are further developed.
2013-048039
Saskia deLang-Lenters
ENDNOTES
1 Refer to http://www.budget.gc.ca/2012/plan/toc-tdm-eng.html. The discussion is in Annex 1 Responsible Spending
2 http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/tchncl/ncmtx/ntrfls-eng.html
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