Some people may have paid back money to another agency, while others say they are receiving mixed messages from tax officials
When Covid-19 closed businesses across Canada the federal government’s financial support was a lifeline, but two years on and it is causing problems for many.
The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was designed to support employed and self-employed people who saw their incomes plummet due to the pandemic. Although eligibility criteria were in place, the program paid out around $3.2 billion to those who the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says were not eligible.
The CRA has been clawing back payments made to ineligible people, but those who believe that they were entitled to the payments were invited to request a review of their circumstances.
However, it appears that many people are not happy with the review process and have complained about the CRA to the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson, François Boileau, who said in May that his office was closely monitoring the situation after is appeared that some who had paid back overpayments were still being sent letters by the CRA chasing repayments.
“It is possible that another department, such as Employment and Social Development Canada, has contacted these individuals for payment and that they have complied by making a payment, but the CRA is unaware,” Boileau said in May.
In a report this week from the CBC, the Ombudsperson has provided an update revealing an exceptional number of complaints from people whose tax refunds were used to ‘offset’ the CERB overpayments that the CRA says they received when they were not entitled.
"This is highly unusual for our office. This is the first time ever where we're under immense pressure," Boileau told the broadcaster.
Mixed messages
The CERB and other pandemic-related benefits were rolled out swiftly to support millions of Canadians and some found the eligibility criteria confusing.
And it seems that even officials are uncertain of how the rules should been applied to ensure only those who should have received benefits did so.
The CBC featured the case of Ashleigh Buchanan from London, Ontario, who originally contacted Service Canada for employment insurance when her hours were cut due to the pandemic. She was transferred to CERB.
When the CRA withheld her $12,000 tax refund she was forced to contact the agency who said she was ineligible for the CERB payments she had received. However, Service Canada continued to state that she was entitled to the benefit.
Wealth Professional reported earlier this year that those requesting a review of eligibility may find their tax refunds being withheld.
The Ombudsperson said in May that anyone who has experienced issues with payments and demands for repayment should contact their service.
“If these complaints are not isolated cases, the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson could launch a systemic investigation to shed light on these issues and, if necessary, it could focus the analysis beyond individual cases to a systemic examination,” the Ombudsperson said at the time.
