Principal Issues: What services will be offered by the new dedicated telephone service ("DTS") for income tax service providers, and what will be the target audience for this initiative?
Position: The DTS will give service providers access to experienced CRA staff who can help with more complex issues than those typically dealt with by staff under the general enquiries service. The DTS will be launched as a three year pilot program, initially providing service to a limited number of Chartered Professional Accountants in Ontario and Quebec. If the pilot is successful, the DTS may be expanded nationwide to more income tax service providers on a permanent basis. The DTS is not intended for specialized tax professionals, whose issues should continue to be addressed by seeking advance income tax rulings, pre-ruling consultations or technical interpretations.
ROUNDTABLE ON THE TAXATION OF INDIVIDUALS, FEBRUARY 2, 2017
QUEBEC ORDER OF CPAs
Dedicated Telephone Service for Income Tax Service
In its 2016 Budget, the federal government proposed to introduce a new, dedicated telephone support line, which will be pilot-tested with tax practitioners to provide better access to information from the Canada Revenue Agency ("CRA") for the benefit of the millions of clients they serve.
Question to the CRA
Can the CRA indicate what services will be offered by this new, exclusive telephone support line, as well as the target audience for this initiative?
CRA Response
Service excellence is a key priority for the CRA. It is of the view that tax and accounting service providers or other individuals offering personal or corporate tax preparation services play a key role in meeting the tax obligations of Canadian taxpayers.
In July 2017, the Income Tax Rulings Directorate ("Directorate") will introduce a new Dedicated Telephone Service ("DTS") for tax service providers. The DTS will provide those service providers with access to experienced CRA staff to assist them in resolving more complex technical tax issues than those typically handled by CRA's general telephone service staff.
The DTS will be launched as a three-year pilot project and will initially offer services to a limited number of chartered professional accountants in Ontario and Quebec. If the pilot project is successful, the DTS could become available to more tax service providers on a permanent and national basis.
The DTS will be a technical resource for tax service providers rather than a problem solving line. DTS agents will therefore not have access to taxpayer accounts. It should also be noted that the DTS is not intended for specialized tax professionals whose services are focused on complex tax planning. They should continue to direct their tax queries through requests for technical interpretations, advance rulings, or pre-ruling consultations. Further information on these and other services provided by the Directorate is available in Information Circular IC70-6R7, Advance Rulings and Technical Interpretations, at the following address: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/ic70-6r7/README.html
Marie-Claude Routhier
(613) 670-8921
February 2, 2017
2017-068271