From: AlanBaggett@volcanomail.com   
      
   I'm not dead yet: Revenue Canada tells P.E.I. man he died in June :CRA SOTW   
      
   'How long is it going to take to prove that I'm actually alive?'   
      
   Kevin Yarr • CBC News   
      
   A Prince Edward Island man was shocked earlier this month to learn the Canada   
   Revenue Agency considered him dead.   
      
   Joe Gallant learned of the error when he returned to his Summerside home from   
   work and collected his mail. In the pile was a letter addressed to the estate   
   of the late Joseph Gallant.   
      
   "Once I opened the letter and saw that it was my name, my Social Insurance   
   Number, my birthday, then I immediately called the phone numbers that were on   
   the paper," said Gallant.   
      
   "When I realized that it was actually me that they believed passed away, I had   
   a little meltdown."   
       
   The mix-up had immediate financial consequences. The letter was demanding the   
   return of GST and family allowance payments for July, because as far as CRA   
   was concerned, Gallant didn't deserve them: he'd been dead since June.   
      
   The phone call did not immediately sort the matter out, so he visited his   
   local MP's office, and they took on the case.   
      
   "I was thinking, how long is it going to take to prove that I'm actually   
   alive?" he said.   
      
   Error rate of 0.06%   
   In an email to CBC News, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) said that   
   occasionally, individuals are incorrectly declared dead.   
      
   "The individuals who were erroneously declared deceased by the CRA for the   
   calendar years 2016 and 2017 represent an error rate of 0.06 per cent of the   
   total dates of death reported to the CRA," it said.   
      
   The CRA said the root of the error can vary, but the majority of errors   
   originate when a return is filed on behalf of a deceased person and the   
   incorrect SIN is provided.     
      
   "In cases where it is determined that an error has been made, the process is   
   to simply remove the date of death from the taxpayer's file and the taxpayer's   
   CRA account is restored."   
      
   No international travel   
   Gallant was told this has happened before. He has been getting regular updates   
   from the MP's office.   
      
   "Right now, from what I understand, with the CRA I am proven to be alive   
   again, and as far as I know I'll be entitled to my taxes again," he said.   
      
   He is still not entirely alive, however. He has been told not to travel   
   outside of Canada. If he does, records of his death could flag his passport as   
   being stolen, and his attempt to return to Canada could be treated as a case   
   of identity theft.   
      
   Gallant is planning trips to Boston and Spain. He is hopeful that everything   
   will be sorted out before his departure date.   
      
      
   -----------------------------------------------------------    
   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    
   ------------------------------------------------------------    
   Alan Baggett - http://www.taxcollectorsbible.com/ - Tax Collector's Bible    
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)