Revenue agency mess disrespects taxpayers
It’s not surprising, but it is infuriating. According to a report released this week by the auditor general of Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency has been blocking calls in order to look like it’s meeting service targets for taxpayers calling in for assistance.
As reported in the Financial Post, these call centres blocked 54 per cent of the 53.5 million calls the CRA received between March 2016 and March 2017.
The calls were blocked to make it look like the CRA call centres were hitting their mandate to answer 75 to 80 per cent of calls within two minutes or less. While the CRA was claiming a 90 per cent success rate, the auditor found that only 32 per cent of calls coming in were answered by agents. An automated service picked up 14 per cent, and a full 54 per cent were blocked.
This is an unacceptable way for any government agency to treat people. But it is especially distressing when one thinks of the stress people feel around filing taxes and the money at stake. Errors can lead to audits — which some people fear more than going to the dentist.
When people do get through, there is no telling they will get correct information. The auditor tested the agents at the call centres, and found that incorrect information was passed on almost 30 per cent of the time.
Rather than ease the pressure felt by taxpayers, the CRA is adding to their confusion and making manoeuvering through the tax system tougher.
In October, the Financial Post reported the agency is taking up to a year to process some taxpayer-requested assessments. That reporting also explored how streamlining and cutbacks at the agency under the Harper Conservatives have led to these issues.
But there is plenty of political blame to go around on this file. The Liberals put $1 billion into the CRA in 2016, but much of this was devoted to the auditing and collections divisions. So while pressure was increasing to make sure federal tax money was coming in, there was diminished support for the taxpayers handing over the cash.
National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier responded with a banal “more must be done” message. A new phone system for CRA call centres is to be installed in 2018 to allow for proper rerouting of calls. This will be helpful. But improvements can’t stop until calls are not being blocked at all, and the information provided is more accurate.
The citizens of Canada need to know that their government will ensure proper supports for taxpayers are in place before it focuses on squeezing more revenue from them.