From: sharx335@hotmail.com   
      
   On 2018-08-14 6:12 a.m., Alan Baggett wrote:   
   > Canada Revenue Agency experiencing ‘higher than normal volumes of work’   
   on tax-return reviews :CRA SOTW   
   >   
   >   By Erica Alini National Online Journalist, Money/Consumer  Global News   
   >   
   > Ellen, a management consultant in Barrie, Ont., sent in her taxes   
   electronically on March 9. On July 31, she was still waiting for the Canada   
   Revenue Agency (CRA) to process her return.   
   >   
   > On its website, the CRA says it aims to issue a notice of assessment within   
   two weeks of receiving a digital individual income tax return and within eight   
   weeks of receiving a paper return. It also says it has a goal of meeting that   
   standard 95 per    
   cent of the time.   
   >   
   > “You see 95 per cent and you think you’re going to fall into that good   
   number,” Ellen, who asked to be identified only by her first name, told   
   Global News. This year, however, “I guess my ticket came up.”   
   >   
   > There was nothing remarkable in her return, she said. She claimed   
   self-employment income and tax credits for a home office and business use of   
   her car, but that was no different from what she had been claiming for the   
   past several years. And her    
   expected tax refund was under $2,500. And yet, she said, her notice of   
   assessment wouldn’t show up.   
   >   
   > In almost five months since filing her taxes, there was “not a peep out of   
   CRA … never any correspondence.” And when she called the agency, the   
   answer, she said, would always be “wait.”   
   >   
   > Eventually, though, an agent did tell her that her return had been selected   
   for random review, although the CRA never asked her for more information or   
   additional documents, she said.   
   >   
   > She also said she started hearing repeatedly about processing delays due to   
   backlogs.   
   >   
   > Global News has received similar accounts from taxpayers who say CRA agents   
   have blamed delays and missed deadlines on excessive workload.   
   >   
   > The CRA told Global News via email it is “currently experiencing higher   
   than normal volumes of work in the review programs.” The agency also said   
   that it has “shifted workloads across various sites to maximize   
   efficiencies.”   
   >   
   > For example, the tax processing centre in St. John’s has now been   
   converted into a National Verification and Collections Centre.   
   >   
   > Still, “the vast majority of the files are being processed within the   
   expected time frames,” the CRA added. “In some cases, it can take longer   
   to complete a file because of the complexity of the issue under review.”   
   >   
   > The implication of a tax pre-assessment   
   > Delays in receiving a notice of assessment often happen when the CRA   
   conducts a so-called pre-assessment review.   
   >   
   > One of three types of tax review, pre-assessments usually take place between   
   February and July, according to Get Smart About Money (GSAM), a financial   
   literacy website maintained by the Ontario Securities Commission. Essentially,   
   the CRA decides to    
   take a closer look at the deductions and credits you claimed before formally   
   assessing your return.   
   >   
   > A processing review is similar to a pre-assessment but happens after the CRA   
   has sent out a preliminary notice of assessment, according to GSAM. They   
   usually take place between June and November.   
   >   
   > A matching review also happens after the CRA sends you a notice of   
   assessment. The process entails the CRA comparing the information on your   
   return with that provided by third parties like your employer or your bank.   
   These reviews usually take place    
   between September and March.   
   >   
   > Pre-assessments can delay your tax refund but they do not usually result in   
   a cutoff of government benefits, such as the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB),   
   the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) or the Ontario Trillium Benefit, said   
   Lisa Gittens, senior    
   tax professional at H&R Block Canada.   
   >   
   > Unless you’ve failed to respond to CRA questions about your return, your   
   benefits will continue to flow at the rate set by your previous tax return,   
   Gittens added. If the CRA later assesses that you should be receiving smaller   
   amounts (for example,    
   because your income went up), you may have to pay something back, she added.   
   >   
   > Taxpayers who haven’t yet received a notice of assessment, “should not   
   panic,” she added.   
   >   
   > “By the end of September, typically we see a rash of notice of assessments   
   going through. That’s when [the CRA’s] staff is back on board in full   
   force.”   
   >   
   > Still, Gittens said it was “very unusual” for someone to have filed a   
   return as early as March 9 and not have received an assessment by the end of   
   April.   
   >   
   > It was even more unusual for the CRA not to communicate with a taxpayer   
   whose return is under review.   
   >   
   > The CRA told Global News that “to minimize the delay of returns, the   
   majority of reviews are performed after the Notice of Assessment has been   
   issued.”   
   >   
   > Six hours on the phone with the CRA   
   > Ellen said her main concern isn’t about the fact that her return was   
   singled out for review or that the CRA missed several self-imposed deadlines   
   when dealing with her files.   
   >   
   > “Delays happen, I get that,” she told Global News.   
   >   
   > But she is upset about the lack of communication. Being able to get through   
   to a human being on the phone was a challenge, she said. And when she did get   
   hold of an agent, she would end up being on the phone for between 30 and 50   
   minutes for every call.   
   >   
   > On the whole, she estimates she has spent six hours on the phone with the   
   CRA.   
   >   
   > “The story was consistently that there is a backlog,” she said. But if   
   that is the case, she adds, “they should have advised Canadians.”   
   >   
   > On Aug. 3, shortly after Global News flagged Ellen’s case to the CRA, she   
   said she received an electronic notice saying that her notice of assessment   
   would become available on Aug. 14.   
   >   
   > According to her electronic files, Ellen said it appears the CRA found small   
   Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI) overpayments and will   
   be paying her $18.90 in interest charges. The agency has flagged no errors so   
   far.   
   >   
   > -----------------------------------------------------------   
   > Miss a Tax Tale Miss a lot!   
   > Pop the link below into your browser to view the entire CRA SOTW   
   > Library!   
   > http://canada.revenue.agency.angelfire.com   
   > ------------------------------------------------------------   
      
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