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9.23 The Canada Revenue
Agency should make its timelines clear to both staff and taxpayers in
carrying out audits of offshore accounts.
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Permanent
Solution:
April
2014
o
The CRA is
committed to establishing and communicating timelines to both auditors as
well as taxpayers involved in audits related to offshore accounts.
These benchmarks will be made available to auditors commencing April 1, 2014.
January
2015 to December 2015
o
With the
introduction of the mandatory reporting of Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT)
to the CRA beginning in January 2015, the CRA will re-examine timelines with
a view to refining its benchmarks during 2015-2016.
Transitional
Solution:
October
2013 to March 2014
o
During the
course of an audit, the CRA will continue to inform taxpayers and their representatives
on a case-by-case basis, of the necessity of providing timely information as
well as the consequences of failing to provide information or documents as
outlined in Information Circular 71-14R3, The Tax Audit.
o
While the CRA is
conducting the historical analysis of audit timelines for offshore cases, it
will continue to monitor timelines for ongoing audits and discuss these with
auditors to ensure the timely completion of offshore audits.
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9.29 The Canada Revenue Agency
should analyze its use of agreements with taxpayers it is auditing, to ensure
that their use reflects Agency project and program objectives.
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Agreed.
The CRA is committed to ensuring that the use of audit agreements effectively
reflect and are consistent with offshore project and program objectives.
Analysis will be conducted immediately to determine characteristics or
elements for consideration in determining whether the use of an agreement for
any particular project is appropriate. By April 1, 2014, the Agency will
ensure that the guidelines for future agreements are communicated to field
auditors prior to the commencement of any specific offshore project.
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Permanent
Solution:
April
2014
To
emphasize the CRA’s commitment to addressing offshore non-compliance, the CRA
has established the Offshore Compliance Division (OCD) to implement the EAP
2013 measures and deliver related program activities.
The
OCD will ensure that the use of audit agreements is consistent with, and
reflects, offshore compliance program objectives. This will be achieved
through headquarters oversight of all proposed agreements with taxpayers. In
instances where proposed agreements are not aligned with program priorities
and objectives, a referral to senior management for review and approval will
be required.
Transitional
Solution:
October
2013 to March 2014
The
OCD is currently focused on formalizing policies, procedures and guidelines
to be communicated through a new training module, internal on-line
information reference space and job aids. These tools will be made available
to all CRA staff and will be specifically included in the training provided
to the Offshore Compliance Specialized Teams.
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9.45
The Canada Revenue Agency should ensure that its objectives and audit
procedures for offshore accounts reflect lessons learned, and are documented
and understood by staff, so that they are ready for the projected increase of
work in this area.
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Agreed.
The CRA is currently developing an action plan to address structural,
procedural and project delivery plans and will ensure that both the
objectives and the audit procedures reflect lessons learned to date with
respect to offshore accounts. It will be a staged implementation with the
Offshore Compliance Division structure being implemented in October 2013, and
objectives, policies and procedures being developed and implemented on an
ongoing basis throughout 2013-2014. As the Electronic Funds Transfer Program
will be implemented in January 2015, further policies and procedures in
respect of that program will be implemented by April 2015.
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Permanent
Solution:
Summer
2013
Economic
Action Plan 2013 delivered new measures for the CRA to combat international
tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance, and the Canadian government has
committed to invest $30 million over five years in support of these measures.
A new division has been created named the Offshore Compliance Division (OCD).
April
2014
The
Offshore Compliance Division will have a field presence consisting of
dedicated Offshore Compliance Specialized Teams located in three regions
across Canada.
The
CRA is focused on formalizing policies, procedures and guidelines to be
communicated through a new training module, internal on-line information
reference space and job aids. These tools will be made available to all CRA
staff and will specifically ensure that offshore compliance
The
OCD is also committed to developing and maintaining an internal on-line
information reference space (WIKI) that is specific to offshore compliance
that will serve to provide the OCSTs as well as all other interested CRA
officials with functional direction, policies, procedures, guidelines and
training.
Transitional
Solution:
October
2013 to March 2014
The
CRA has commenced its preparations for the new volume of work that is
anticipated with the implementation of the EAP 2013 measures. The OCD has
commenced the development of offshore compliance specific learning products
for auditors that includes modules created based upon lessons learned and
intelligence gathered from past offshore audits. It is anticipated that the
training module for offshore compliance audits will be delivered to the new
OCSTs in the spring of 2014.
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