14 June 1999 Ministerial Letter 9911358 - MIM-MAIL--7 POINT PLAN

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.

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Department.

Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle du ministère.

XXXXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXXXXX:

The Honourable Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of National Revenue, has asked me to reply to your letter of March 24, 1999, concerning a newspaper article in The Vaily Townsman on December 2, 1998, which commented on observations made by the Auditor General regarding Revenue Canada's processing of income taxes withheld at source.

Revenue Canada places a very high priority on the fairness of the Canadian taxation system. The Department is committed to seeing that Canadians pay their fair share of income tax, no more and no less. Revenue Canada's Setting a New Standard: A 7-Point Plan for Fairness was announced in February of 1999 as one method of ensuring that this commitment is fulfilled.

The Department acknowledges that a small percentage of understated tax deductions currently go undetected. As set out in the 7-Point Plan, we will place a priority on finding a solution to this problem by:

• reviewing our systems and processes to ensure that available credits, benefits, and overpayments are provided to our clients, particularly the Canada Child Tax and the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) credit;
• developing specialized training to help staff and volunteers identify entitlements that have not been claimed;
• informing the affected client where unclaimed credits, benefits or overpayments have been identified so that he or she can make future claims; and
• encouraging employees to act in the interests of clients in identifying these credits, benefits, and overpayments.

The Department is confident that these actions will address this deficiency.

You also expressed concern that questions contained in your previous letter to the Department were not answered. In my response to you of March 11, 1999, I indicated that the confidentiality provisions of the Income Tax Act prevent me from discussing specific cases. I also explained, however, that legislative proposals were released to ensure that all persons, including trusts, who leave or transfer property from Canada will pay tax on most capital gains that have accrued in Canada up to the time of departure. I regret that you found the information unsatisfactory; however, I have given you as much information on this case as I am permitted to do under the Act.

Yours sincerely,

Bill McCloskey
Assistant Deputy Minister
Policy and Legislation Branch

Lena Holloway (957-2104)
June 14, 1999
991135