XPost: can.general, ott.general   
   From: Canuck57@nospam.com   
      
   CRA would love to do that.  Its all about the money.   
      
   On 22/04/2011 8:38 AM, Tony wrote:   
   > Those lowlife down and out bastards with little income who pay dick all in   
   > the way of taxes should be horsewhipped and put in work camps to work. Hard   
   > labour with no pay for the rest of their lives.   
   >   
   > Alan Baggett wrote:   
   >   
   >> Canada Revenue Agency Tax form printing error can be costly :CRA SOTW   
   >>   
   >> Tax form printing error can be costly   
   >>   
   >> By Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew | Thu Apr 14 2011   
   >>   
   >> Morgan Bentham, a 27-year-old photography student at the Ontario   
   >> College of Art and Design, went online to calculate and file her 2010   
   >> personal income taxes around the end of March and was surprised to   
   >> find that she was not entitled to a tax refund, as she had been in   
   >> past years.   
   >>   
   >> “I’ve worked the same part-time job with basically the same hours for   
   >> three years. So everything should have been the same. It seemed odd   
   >> that I got nothing but I didn’t really have time to go through the   
   >> paper forms to double-check because I was busy with school,” Bentham   
   >> said.   
   >>   
   >> Bentham told her mother that she didn’t know if it was worth filing if   
   >> she wasn’t getting anything back. “I said ‘Yes, it is!’ and grabbed   
   >> the paper forms just to double check,” her mother Margaret said.   
   >>   
   >> Margaret knew that as a student with little income who pays rent in   
   >> Toronto, Morgan would be entitled to Ontario tax credits that would   
   >> produce an income tax refund.   
   >>   
   >> But Margaret initially came away with the same result — no refund.   
   >>   
   >> “I kept reading it and saying, ‘It doesn’t make sense,’ ” Margaret   
   >> said.   
   >>   
   >> That’s when she realized the problem — incorrect instructions for Line   
   >> 21 on Form ON 479 that wipe out any tax credits that filers added up   
   >> on the previous page.   
   >>   
   >> Morgan should receive $420 in Ontario tax credits, but the error put   
   >> her at zero.   
   >>   
   >> “I called the CRA and I asked them about it and they knew right away,”   
   >> Margaret said.   
   >>   
   >> “But what I don’t understand is why they haven’t done more to make the   
   >> public aware of the mistake.”   
   >> The printing error by the Canada Revenue Agency may cost Ontario   
   >> residents — particularly students, seniors, and those with low incomes   
   >> — hundreds of dollars in provincial tax credits.   
   >>   
   >> The Canada Revenue Agency identified this issue in late November, and   
   >> online forms were corrected and posted on the agency’s website in   
   >> early January, a CRA spokesperson told The Star.   
   >>   
   >> “The CRA did not reprint hard copy versions of the form because even   
   >> if the calculation on the paper copy is incorrect, the CRA’s systems   
   >> will calculate the taxpayers’ credits correctly,” Breghan Paterson   
   >> said.   
   >> As well, CRA call centre agents have been advised of this error and   
   >> can respond to taxpayers’ concerns or taxpayers can also go to the CRA   
   >> Web site for the correct form.   
   >>   
   >> With about two-thirds of Canadians filing their returns electronically   
   >> these days, it’s difficult to say how many Ontario residents may be   
   >> affected.   
   >>   
   >> Regardless, experts say whether someone files electronically or by   
   >> paper, CRA’s system will catch any mathematical errors and recalculate   
   >> the tax bill, adding the credits back in and issuing a refund, if   
   >> needed.   
   >> That said, professional tax preparers say the biggest worry is this:   
   >> low-income Ontario residents who quickly go through the paper forms,   
   >> believe they are not entitled to any provincial tax credits, and   
   >> decide not to file a tax return at all.   
   >>   
   >> That’s a problem because those people could miss out on a refund   
   >> cheque, as well as other tax benefits paid by the government such as   
   >> the GST/HST credit and the Ontario Sales Tax Transition Benefit.   
   >> The only way to receive those benefits is to file an income tax   
   >> return.   
   >>   
   >> “It’s not just the immediate effect of not filing the return, it’s   
   >> what else you could be missing out on,” said Cleo Hamel, a senior tax   
   >> analyst at H&R Block Canada.   
   >>   
   >> H&R Block was alerted to the error in February, and told by CRA it was   
   >> a problem only on early forms and tax packages that had been mailed   
   >> those who complete their returns manually.   
   >>   
   >> Hamel was surprised when told that the error was still on a set of tax   
   >> forms picked up at the CRA office on Front Street in downtown Toronto   
   >> this week.   
   >>   
   >> “There is an impact with this error. You would expect something like   
   >> that to be looked into,” Hamel said.   
   >> “We are in April, close to the filing deadline. There will be people   
   >> scrambling now to get things together and the last thing on their   
   >> minds is to worry about whether the forms are correct.”   
   >>   
   >> Ontario residents can claim tax credits for rent or property taxes   
   >> paid. Students who live in residence can also claim a credit. These   
   >> credits are geared to income.   
   >>   
   >> An Ontario resident who has about $15,000 in annual income would be   
   >> entitled to a maximum property tax or rent credit of $6,000, and the   
   >> net tax credit would be $370.   
   >>   
   >> A senior who makes $10,000 a year and claims $2,100 in rent or   
   >> property taxes would expect a tax credit of $835.   
   >>   
   >> The unfortunate printing error would wipe out these credits.   
   >>   
   >> “People who get these credits tend to get them every year,” said Bruce   
   >> Ball, chartered accountant and national tax partners at BDO Canada   
   >> LLP.   
   >>   
   >> “If they suddenly aren’t getting them, that should be a clear sign   
   >> that something is wrong with their return.”   
   >> Ontario residents who file a return will get the provincial tax   
   >> credits they are entitled to, a government spokesperson told the Star.   
   >>   
   >> “Taxpayers who follow the printed instructions are not denied any   
   >> amounts to which they may be entitled as the CRA system has the   
   >> correct calculation,’ a spokesperson for the Ontario Minister of   
   >> Revenue told the Star in an email.   
   >>   
   >> “People who use tax software to prepare their returns should not be   
   >> affected by these printing errors.”   
   >> The Ontario ministry of revenue also told the Star that Ontarians can   
   >> visit www.ontario.ca/taxcredits to find out more about the credits   
   >> they are eligible for. The site includes a tax credit calculator for   
   >> residents to figure out if they are entitled to receive credits.   
   >>   
   >> However, they still need to fill an income tax return.   
   >>   
   >> “I would suggest to anyone using paper method, if you picked up a   
   >> forms booklet or received it in the mail, I would suggest you go back   
   >> and take a look at that tax return, especially if you’ve filed   
      
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