From: AlanBaggett@volcanomail.com   
      
   'I'm completely fed up,' 85-year-old says of CRA disability tax credit delays   
   :CRA SOTW   
      
   After 9 months and conflicting letters, Glen Jefferson frustrated by delays   
   with wife's application   
      
   By Yvonne Colbert, CBC News    
      
   An 85-year-old Halifax man is at his wit's end in his efforts to have his   
   wife's disability tax credit processed by the Canada Revenue Agency, a   
   discouraging nine-month odyssey that's left him wondering why he tried in the   
   first place.   
      
   "I'm completely fed up. Completely fed up," Glen Jefferson said in an   
   interview. "It's been so terrible and caused a lot of grief."   
      
   He and his 82-year-old wife, Lillian, have been married for 66 years and still   
   live in their own home. She has been diagnosed with dementia, so Glen   
   Jefferson is responsible for everything. He buys groceries, cooks meals,   
   cleans the house, does the    
   laundry and cares for his wife 24/7.   
      
   The disability tax credit, which can be worth thousands of dollars to those   
   who qualify, is designed to provide help for people who have mental or   
   physical impairments that are "severe and prolonged," according to the CRA.   
      
   Jefferson said he applied for the credit for his wife because they need it.   
      
   "It would be nice if we could have the funds to help out here because I live   
   on a limited pension that I get at the end of the month and it takes   
   everything to keep us going," he said.   
      
   The Canada Revenue Agency says the disability tax credit is designed for   
   people with 'severe and prolonged' mental or physical impairments. (Sean   
   Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)   
      
   Jefferson applied for the disability tax credit last June. In December, he   
   received a letter from the CRA confirming he had sent them a completed Form   
   T2201.   
      
   But the letter also said the CRA had not received a completed questionnaire   
   from his doctor outlining Lillian Jefferson's ailments and her level of   
   functioning, even though the physician had completed the part of the   
   application that was required. It is    
   unclear whether a subsequent questionnaire was sent to the doctor.   
      
   Earlier this month, Jefferson received another CRA letter, this one saying the   
   tax agency could not determine disability because he had not completed Form   
   T2201.   
      
   He called CRA, but no one there was able to help or explain why he had   
   received conflicting letters.   
      
   He has written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who referred his letter to   
   Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier. A staffer in her office responded by   
   email and said: "Your email is receiving necessary consideration and the   
   appropriate follow-up will be    
   made by the Minister's Office as soon as possible."   
      
   Jefferson also contacted his MP, Geoff Regan.   
      
   'I don't understand it'   
   Jefferson said he was told the CRA was unable to process the application until   
   they spoke with his doctor but it couldn't locate the physician because he had   
   moved from Nova Scotia.   
      
   Shaun Brown, a family friend who has been helping the Jeffersons, said it took   
   him just five minutes on Google to locate the doctor in Toronto. The CRA was   
   provided with the doctor's contact information, but Jefferson heard nothing   
   after the information    
   was sent.   
      
   "I'm really puzzled as to why they put an elderly gentleman who's struggling   
   to stay in his own home and care for his wife who required full-time care   
   through this," Brown said. "I don't understand it."   
      
   Brown said he's not sure whether a staffing issue or bureaucracy is to blame,   
   but after seeing what the Jeffersons have gone through he can understand why   
   companies exist to help people manoeuvre through the application process.   
      
   "It's frustrating, it's time consuming and it seems like every turn you make   
   you run into a wall," Brown said.   
      
   Those companies charge approximately 30 per cent of whatever the disability   
   tax credit applicant receives from the government.     
      
   "It's a shame to think there are people out there who qualify and can really   
   use the credit and they're having to give 30 per cent of their money away to   
   these companies to help them out," Brown said. "It shouldn't be as difficult   
   as it is."   
      
   The CRA was directed more than three years ago to develop regulations limiting   
   how much companies can charge to assist disability tax credit applicants.   
      
   The CRA is not able to provide a date when the draft regulation will be made   
   public. Even then, the CRA will seek feedback before legislation is created   
   and introduced in the House of Commons.   
      
   Jeffersons application approved   
   After CBC News contacted the CRA on March 13 about the Jeffersons'   
   application, Glen Jefferson received a call from the tax agency the same day.   
   He said he was told his case would be reviewed in the coming week   
      
   On Friday morning, after this story was published, Jefferson received another   
   call from the CRA, telling him his DTC application has been approved.   
      
   "Well, I'm really happy, I'm telling you," he told CBC.   
      
   Jefferson applied retroactively for the DTC for his wife and he's been told   
   the first year of the tax credit was put in his bank account Thursday, and a   
   letter has been sent outlining their future eligibility.   
      
   In an email to CBC News, a CRA spokesperson said the agency cannot comment on   
   individual cases, but making sure Canadians can access the benefits and   
   credits they are entitled to is a key commitment of the federal government.   
      
   "The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) makes every effort to process the requests   
   for the DTC and make a determination within 6 to 8 weeks upon receipt of a   
   completed application from an individual," Etienne Biram said.   
      
   Biram said each case is unique and some require additional information from   
   the taxpayer and/or their medical practitioner, and this may extend the period   
   of time it takes to review the application.   
      
   Biram said the CRA receives an average of 250,000 applications for the   
   disability tax credit each year.   
      
   He said 700,000 Canadians claim the credit on their annual tax return and the   
   number of files that have yet to be processed changes on a daily basis as the   
   tax centres work through the inventory.   
      
   "There are no files in the inventory that were received more than two years   
   ago," he said.   
      
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