Did you know you have Taxpayer Rights?

It surprises some people to learn that there is a Taxpayer Bill of Rights:

1. You have the right to receive entitlements and to pay no more and no less than what is required by law.
2. You have the right to service in both official languages.
3. You have the right to privacy and confidentiality.
4. You have the right to a formal review and a subsequent appeal.
5. You have the right to be treated professionally, courteously, and fairly.
6. You have the right to complete, accurate, clear, and timely information.
7. You have the right, as an individual, not to pay income tax amounts in dispute before you have had an impartial review.
8. You have the right to have the law applied consistently.
9. You have the right to lodge a service complaint and to be provided with an explanation of our findings.
10. You have the right to have the costs of compliance taken into account when administering tax legislation.
11. You have the right to expect us to be accountable.
12. You have the right to relief from penalties and interest under tax legislation because of extraordinary circumstances.
13. You have the right to expect us to publish our service standards and report annually.
14. You have the right to expect us to warn you about questionable tax schemes in a timely manner.
15. You have the right to be represented by a person of your choice.

If your rights haven’t been respected or you do not feel the service you received from the CRA is in accordance with these rights, you can make a complaint. Think of it as a service contract as you would with any other organization that provides a service to the public. Contrary to how it may feel sometimes, CRA agents do have boundaries and taxpayers need to know about them. If the public don’t enforce their rights they won’t be any good to us! You can read more about your rights at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/frnss/tbrbll-eng.html or give me a call if you need help to make a complaint.