Latest survey hands tax agency mediocre C grade
A recent survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business reveals that small firms and tax professionals view the Canada Revenue Agency's service to be adequate and awarded it a C grade.
Three out of 10 (31%) firms and 76% of tax professionals believe that the CRA's service has gotten worse in the last three years, although the organization's overall rating has remained the same since the two previous reports cards in 2014 and 2017.
"The CRA played a key role in delivering COVID-19 support programs to help small businesses survive the pandemic. Both business owners and tax practitioners had generally positive views on the administration of COVID-19 support programs. Almost two-thirds (63%) of business owners also felt that the CRA treated them with respect," said Corinne Pohlmann, Senior Vice-President of National Affairs at CFIB. "However, while the CRA has made efforts to improve its interactions with small businesses, there's still room for improvement."
Two-thirds of company owners reported feeling intimidated by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), and 51% said they felt like they were treated unfairly. Only 23% of respondents said that the CRA was taking responsibility for its errors or trying to be more small-business friendly.
One of the only avenues for small companies to communicate with the CRA directly is through the Business Enquiries Line, yet just 23% of business owners and 28% of tax professionals felt confident in the responses given by contact centre agents. A prevalent complaint was the CRA staff's inadequate knowledge, which was rated as "poor" by more than half (58%) of tax professionals.
Since it is already difficult for small firms to contact the CRA, the possibility of a strike by CRA employees would put even more pressure on these enterprises, as they depend on CRA services on a daily basis.
"Long wait times to reach an agent, dealing with complex language and sometimes receiving inaccurate answers can be very frustrating for businesses and take too much of their time and energy. It shouldn't be complicated," said Michelle Auger, CFIB senior policy analyst and co-author of the report card. "The CRA needs to continue to improve its service to make it easier for businesses to comply with their tax obligations."
The CFIB advises the CRA to address these issues as it collaborates with the CRA to enhance tax compliance and services for small companies.
The most crucial information is to ensure accurate and timely information is provided, to improve accessibility to CRA staff by enhancing the call centre and increasing the number of senior agents, and to lessen the regulatory tax burden on small businesses by creating a standard tax deduction and regularly updating the GST and source deduction thresholds.
"Business owners just want certainty and clear answers when they contact the CRA. It's hard to do that when they're forced to call agents multiple times, navigate a complicated website and deal with burdensome tax regulations. We hope the CRA continues to improve its services, so owners can devote more time to operating their businesses," Pohlmann concluded.
