PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
BACKLOG OF TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS COMPROMISING CANADA'S INCOME TAX SYSTEM
Ottawa, April 28, 2010 -
The integrity of Canada’s income tax system has been compromised by the severe backlog of outstanding technical amendments that are needed to provide greater clarity to the Income Tax Act, according to a report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts presented to the House of Commons today.
In the fall of 2009, the Office of the Auditor General released a performance audit that focused on the Department of Finance Canada’s and the Canada Revenue Agency’s activities to identify and develop legislative amendments to correct technical deficiencies in the Income Tax Act. The audit found that there is a backlog of at least 400 technical amendments to the Act. A bill proposing amendments has been introduced several times since 2002, but it has not been passed by Parliament. The audit noted that the Department of Finance does not make effective use of available electronic tools to record, track, and prioritize issues for the purpose of legislative amendment. Also, the Canada Revenue Agency was not providing advance income tax rulings in a timely manner and has not kept some technical interpretations available to taxpayers up to date.
The Public Accounts Committee believes that the integrity of Canada’s income tax system depends upon taxpayers and tax auditors having a clear understanding of the requirements of the Income Tax Act and its associated regulations. A lack of clarity can lead to increased costs for taxpayers who may need to seek out professional advice. As a result, it is of particular concern to the Committee that no income tax technical amendment bill has been passed since 2001.
In order to help ensure that outstanding technical amendments are passed in a timely manner, the Committee recommended in its report that the Department of Finance only propose technical income tax changes in technical amendment bills, release proposed amendments for comment before pending bills are passed, and prepare annual technical bills for consideration by Parliament. The Committee will also be monitoring the progress of the Canada Revenue Agency to ensure that the issues raised in the audit are addressed in a satisfactory manner.
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