One group has called the agency out on tax complexity, delayed responses, and other concerns
The year’s almost over, but the complaints against the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) don’t seem to be stopping. Whether it’s because of a reported inability to monitor tax shortfalls, issues with its call centres, or some widely panned tax-collection policies, the agency isn’t scoring high on helpfulness — and one group has gone on the record to say so.
In its latest CRA Report Card, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has given the agency a “merely satisfactory” grade of ‘C’ — the same score it earned from the group two years ago.
“In recent years, the CRA has made efforts to improve its customer service, but it's clear that its service outcomes still don't align with expectations of small business owners,” said Corinne Pohlmann, senior vice-president of National Affairs at CFIB.
More than 8,300 small-business owners and 330 tax practitioners were surveyed for the report. While small businesses were more satisfied than practitioners overall, the two groups agree that the CRA still needs improvement.
Assessing the agency’s service levels, 18% of business owners and 47% of tax practitioners said that the service they received has gotten worse over the last three years. And while the majority of each group said the CRA treats them with respect (51% of business owners; 62% of tax practitioners), the agency scored somewhat poorly on several other measures. That includes accountability for its mistakes, the amount of time callers are put on hold, and number of call attempts before a caller got through.
The answers provided by the CRA were particularly concerning to tax practitioners. When asked about their experiences calling the agency over the past three years, 51% said they’ve been given a general answer that did not meet their needs; 56% said they’ve been transferred multiple times before they got an answer; and 47% said they’ve gotten different, conflicting, or incorrect answers to a question.
Business-friendliness was also not a strong point for the CRA. Forty-three per cent of business owners and 66% of tax practitioners reported an increase in the administrative burden of their tax obligations over the past three years. Additionally, only 25% of SME owners and 43% of tax practitioners feel the agency is making an effort to be business-friendly.
The CRA has introduced a liaison officer service and a mobile app to help business owners understand and remember their tax obligations. However, 92% of business owners said they weren’t aware of the liaison officer program, and 91% didn’t know about the tax-reminder app.
“When business owners know about new initiatives designed to improve their dealings with the CRA, they are extremely supportive,” Pohlman said. “Unfortunately, a lack of awareness and education about these tools limits the benefit they can provide to Canada's small business community."
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In its latest CRA Report Card, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has given the agency a “merely satisfactory” grade of ‘C’ — the same score it earned from the group two years ago.
“In recent years, the CRA has made efforts to improve its customer service, but it's clear that its service outcomes still don't align with expectations of small business owners,” said Corinne Pohlmann, senior vice-president of National Affairs at CFIB.
More than 8,300 small-business owners and 330 tax practitioners were surveyed for the report. While small businesses were more satisfied than practitioners overall, the two groups agree that the CRA still needs improvement.
Assessing the agency’s service levels, 18% of business owners and 47% of tax practitioners said that the service they received has gotten worse over the last three years. And while the majority of each group said the CRA treats them with respect (51% of business owners; 62% of tax practitioners), the agency scored somewhat poorly on several other measures. That includes accountability for its mistakes, the amount of time callers are put on hold, and number of call attempts before a caller got through.
The answers provided by the CRA were particularly concerning to tax practitioners. When asked about their experiences calling the agency over the past three years, 51% said they’ve been given a general answer that did not meet their needs; 56% said they’ve been transferred multiple times before they got an answer; and 47% said they’ve gotten different, conflicting, or incorrect answers to a question.
Business-friendliness was also not a strong point for the CRA. Forty-three per cent of business owners and 66% of tax practitioners reported an increase in the administrative burden of their tax obligations over the past three years. Additionally, only 25% of SME owners and 43% of tax practitioners feel the agency is making an effort to be business-friendly.
The CRA has introduced a liaison officer service and a mobile app to help business owners understand and remember their tax obligations. However, 92% of business owners said they weren’t aware of the liaison officer program, and 91% didn’t know about the tax-reminder app.
“When business owners know about new initiatives designed to improve their dealings with the CRA, they are extremely supportive,” Pohlman said. “Unfortunately, a lack of awareness and education about these tools limits the benefit they can provide to Canada's small business community."
Related stories:
CRA call-centre audit uncovers blocked calls, bad information
What is the 'fluctuation penalty' and why should the CRA fix it?
