Principal Issues: CALU requested an update on the publication of Folios.
Position: General comments provided.
Reasons: See below.
CALU CRA Roundtable May 2014
Question 2 Update on Folio Project
The Income Tax Rulings Directorate has started to update and improve the technical content contained in Interpretation Bulletins through the creation of a new technical tax publication called Income Tax Folios. Responsibility for drafting certain Folio chapters has been assigned to external accounting and legal firms. Can you comment on what are the current priorities for updating technical information, and how the outsourcing of certain chapters has been proceeding?
Answer 2
The Income Tax Folios were launched on March 28, 2013 with the publication of the first eleven Chapters. Since that time, numerous updates related to legislative amendments and emerging interpretive provisions have been made to these published Chapters. As well, Rulings officers are working on nineteen additional Chapters, which are in various stages of completion. Each Chapter will be published as soon as it is completed. The Folios are definitely a priority in the Directorate's already demanding workload.
In 2013, the Directorate also undertook a pilot project coordinated with the assistance of the Canadian Tax Foundation and the (then) Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Under this pilot project, seventeen chapters were allocated to tax professionals in leading law and accounting firms. We are not yet in a position to evaluate the pilot program, but look forward to doing so in the coming months.
Renée Shields
2014-052329
May 6, 2014