ab00a664   
   XPost: can.general, can.politics, ott.general   
   From: nospam@thanksalot.com   
      
   Alan Baggett wrote:   
   > Did Canada Revenue Agency rig self grading scheme? :CRA SOTW   
   >   
   > by Alan Baggett » Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:48:49 AM   
   >   
   > Did Canada Revenue Agency rig self grading scheme? :CRA SOTW   
   >   
   > Revenue Canada gives itself an A for service but auditors say grading   
   > rigged   
   >   
   > Dean Beeby   
   >   
   > OTTAWA- The Canadian Press   
   >   
   > Published Sunday, Jun. 12, 2011 4:27PM EDT   
   >  Last updated Monday, Jun. 13, 2011 8:31AM EDT   
   >   
   > The Canada Revenue Agency has been giving itself an A in its report   
   > card on service to taxpayers - but a new audit suggests the grading   
   > scheme was rigged.   
   >   
   > Last fall, the agency said it was doing a stellar job in responding to   
   > written requests from taxpayers for GST and HST rulings and   
   > interpretations.   
   >   
   > Since 2006, officials have promised to get responses out within 45   
   > days at least 80 per cent of the time. And in a recent annual   
   > performance report to Parliament, the agency said it met the 45-day   
   > deadline 93 per cent of the time.   
   >   
   > But that claim has withered under the scrutiny of internal auditors,   
   > who did their own independent grading - and gave the agency an anemic   
   > 74 per cent, well below the minimum standard.   
   >   
   > The auditors found that the agency had been excluding from the   
   > calculation all written requests that arrive at Ottawa headquarters,   
   > counting only those handled by nine regional offices, from Halifax to   
   > Vancouver.   
   >   
   > Including the weaker performance at headquarters drags down   
   > performance by 15 percentage points.   
   >   
   > The agency also started the clock ticking on responses to written   
   > requests only when the questions were entered into its computer   
   > system, not when the request was actually received by an office.   
   >   
   > Using proper date-stamping, the auditors found performance was pulled   
   > down by another four percentage points.   
   >   
   > "Clients who look at the standard for GST-HST written enquiries would   
   > likely assume that it applies to all requests received, regardless of   
   > where they are processed, and that it is measured from the time that   
   > it is received by the agency," says the newly released audit, dated   
   > January this year.   
   >   
   > The agency issued almost 3,700 GST and HST rulings and interpretations   
   > in the last fiscal year, and just over a fifth came from headquarters.   
   >   
   > The audit report called on the agency to use "date received" rather   
   > than "date inputted" in calculating its service levels, which   
   > officials have been doing since January this year.   
   >   
   > But management has rejected a second recommendation, that   
   > headquarters' performance always be included in the calculation.   
   >   
   > "The rulings and interpretations issued by headquarters ... are of a   
   > highly technical nature and are often precedent and-or policy-   
   > setting," agency spokesman Noel Carisse said in an email response to   
   > questions.   
   >   
   > "Some of the issues deal with present legislative anomalies which   
   > require a significant amount of time to resolve."   
   >   
   > The agency last week published an amendment to its service standards   
   > to make clear that highly technical rulings and interpretations - that   
   > is, those typically issued by headquarters - will not be included when   
   > calculating performance.   
   >   
   > In the meantime, officials will by December this year develop an   
   > internal timeliness measure for rulings from the Ottawa head office.   
   >   
   > Mr. Carisse noted the agency saw a surge in enquiries as Ontario and   
   > British Columbia converted their provincial sales tax to the HST last   
   > year.   
   >   
   > "We are now starting to see a decrease in the number of requests for   
   > HST-related enquiries as registrants become more familiar with their   
   > responsibilities and entitlements under the new regime," he said.   
   >   
   > The agency also answers almost 100,000 telephone enquiries each year   
   > about GST and HST - but does not properly review the quality or   
   > accuracy of those responses, says the audit.   
   >   
   > Management officials say a survey to review the accuracy of telephone   
   > responses was killed in 2004 to save money. Mr. Carisse says the   
   > agency is looking at ways to revive quality control for regional   
   > offices over the next year.   
   >   
   > The audit did not examine dozens of other service standards at the   
   > Canada Revenue Agency, raising questions about whether the publicly   
   > posted grades for those are accurate.   
   >   
   > -----------------------------------------------------------   
   >   
   > Miss a Tax Tale Miss a lot!   
   >   
   > Visit the CRA SOTW Library at   
   > http://canada.revenue.agency.angelfire.com   
   >   
   > ------------------------------------------------------------   
   >   
   > Alan Baggett - http://taxcollectorsbible.com/- Tax Collector's Bible   
      
      
   These particular servants (civil) are the worst thieves and liars of the   
   lot. Why would anyone ever expect anything honest from them?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)