PACP Committee Report
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David Christopherson Dear Mr. Christopherson: Pursuant to House of Commons Standing Order 109 on behalf of the Government of Canada, I am pleased to provide the Government’s Response to the recommendations of the Thirteenth Report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts concerning: Chapter 3, Aggressive Tax Planning, of the Spring 2014 Report of the Auditor General of Canada. I appreciate the important work undertaken by you and the Standing Committee to study the Auditor General’s findings on whether the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is protecting the tax base by detecting and correcting non‑compliance related to aggressive tax planning (ATP) and deterring the use of ATP; and that the Department of Finance Canada (Finance) has appropriate processes in place to provide timely analysis and, where required, legislative drafting regarding issues of ATP identified by the CRA. The Government of Canada is pleased that the Auditor General, has concluded that overall, the CRA’s ATP Program has the tools to detect, correct and deter non‑compliance. I am also pleased to provide the Government’s response addressing the Standing Committee’s two recommendations, together with the CRA’s report outlining its progress in implementing the Office of the Auditor General’s recommendations in Chapter 3 of the Spring 2014 Report. Recommendation 1 That, by 31 May 2015, the Privy Council Office update the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on its discussions with the Office of the Auditor General regarding its protocol for accessing information held by departments. Response With respect to Recommendation 1, the Privy Council Office reports that an established process exists to provide the Auditor General with access to information that relates to public expenditures in certain confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council. Where the Auditor General is of the view that access to information in certain confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council has been improperly denied to his office under existing legal instruments, the matter may be referred to the Privy Council Office under an agreed protocol. The Privy Council Office shares the Auditor General’s view that the protocol is a good approach to this issue. Discussions occurred between the Office of the Auditor General and the Privy Council Office concerning certain information contained in confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council to which access was not provided. In the course of the discussions, the Privy Council Office confirmed that the information at issue is appropriately characterized as a confidence of the Queen’s Privy Council to which access has not been granted under existing legal instruments. The Privy Council Office will continue to engage with the Office of the Auditor General under the established process, as the need to resolve access issues arises. The Government of Canada remains committed to ensuring that the Auditor General is provided full and timely access to the information to which access has been granted. The following paragraphs constitute the report requested by the Committee by May 31, 2015, in Recommendation 2. Recommendation 2 That, by 31 May 2015, the Canada Revenue Agency provide the Standing Committee on Public Accounts with a report outlining its progress in implementing the Office of the Auditor General’s recommendations in Chapter 3 of the Spring 2014 Report. Response With respect to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts’ Recommendation 2, below is the CRA’s progress report. CRA’s Progress Report The CRA matched its completed audit results to those that were initially risk assessed using the National Risk Assessment Model (NRAM) and determined that the ATP file risk ratings were generally in line with the ATP audit. It will continue to evaluate the NRAM and will use the results as part of their continuous refinement of the NRAM and to make changes to its associated risk criteria. The CRA developed a training framework to monitor and match courses taken by auditors to the ATP learning path; implemented a systematic approach to compare ATP auditor learning histories with learning paths; and is now in a position to better address the gaps. The CRA consulted extensively with other international tax administrations and was able to compile a preliminary list of ATP relevant performance measures and is implementing the following two:
The CRA is also considering the merits of other indicators included on the list. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and the members of the Standing Committee again for your work. Yours sincerely, Hon. Kerry‑Lynne D. Findlay, P.C., Q.C., M.P. |