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Results: 91 - 105 of 210
View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
The job that was entrusted to me in my mandate letter is about services to Canadians, about improving services, and about the fight against tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. I have to tell you, Mr. Dusseault, that I have never given a second thought to the colour of the text in the report.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
Thank you for your question, Mr. Dusseault.
I would like to thank the committee for the report it produced. My department has accepted all 14 recommendations in your report.
As for the voluntary disclosures program, I would like to remind you that, last year, I commissioned an evaluation by an independent person, Kimberley Brooks. She evaluated the whole process to determine whether everything was in order. In this aspect, indeed, it was.
I can tell you that we are in the process of responding to the 14 recommendations. Mr. Gallivan will be able to tell you what point we have reached.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I thank my colleague for his question.
That actually gives the government the opportunity to talk about all the work it has done and will do to combat tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.
As I mentioned in my remarks, our activities are currently geared towards criminal activity. Investigations are under way and are taking their course.
As for tax evasion and tax avoidance, Mr. Gallivan has a lot more technical information. We know that Canadians want to know what is happening, they want everyone to pay their fair share and, if something is considered criminal, they want it to be dealt with as such.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I thank my colleague for her question.
Our government has in fact committed to study the tax gap, something the Conservative Party never wanted to do. Our approach is quite different, in that we work on the basis of facts. That is how I asked the Canada Revenue Agency to work. The agency is working in collaboration with the Parliamentary Budget Officer on the tax gap issue.
A first report was submitted last June. The work is continuing. Other meetings will be taking place. The important thing for us is to use all the tools at our disposal, to make sure that Canadians have trust in the fairness of our tax system.
I repeat my commitment, and the government's commitment, to continue our work and to make it public.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
A first report was submitted last June. As to how the work is continuing, Mr. Gallivan is more current as to dates and all the technical aspects.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I thank my colleague for his question and for his concern for people. Indeed, not everyone has access to electronic services, and I am very aware of that.
In terms of customer service, in my opinion, everyone must be treated fairly. Just because someone sends their returns on paper does not mean that they will be treated less well than those who filed their returns online.
I am happy that almost 90% of the people send their returns to the agency electronically, but when we receive paper returns, we process them in the same way as electronic returns.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I thank my colleague for his question.
At the beginning of tax season, I was told that it was difficult to find forms in French in some places. It was also difficult to get forms in some other places. I immediately contacted people at the agency to resolve the situation. Mr. Gallivan will be able to give you more information about that and to talk to you about the agreements we have reached with Canada Post in terms of paper tax returns.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I thank my colleague for his question.
As my mandate letter mentions, one of the agency's priorities is customer service. Our government is committed to having the agency provide Canadians all across the country with the best service.
The objective of streamlining the services is to concentrate processing activities in the three national verification and collection centres.
I have been able to tour the agency's offices all over Canada. Actually, the tour is just coming to an end. I have been meeting with employees to see how the streamlining of services is going in the trenches, because streamlining means change. Employees and management are working together and are committed to serving Canadians. I was extremely surprised to hear employees all over the country tell me that they had never seen a revenue minister in their offices and in their regions. Streamlining the services has allowed us to consolidate our services in the regions. As I see things, all the regions of the country are important.
The only office that was closed was in Toronto, but there are already three other agency offices in that city. We made sure that we worked with the unions to support employees through all the changes that were implemented.
Everywhere I went, I met Canada Revenue Agency employees who are committed to customer service. I always take the opportunity to tell them how much of a priority customer service is for me. I am a social worker by training and, as I see it, everyone must be treated the same, from the poorest to the richest.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
You are perfectly right. The fact that there are two tax returns is peculiar to Quebec. The CRA is working closely with the Ministère du Revenu in Quebec. I have also met with my colleague, Minister Leitão, on several occasions.
With that introduction, I will ask Mr. Gallivan to answer your question in more detail.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
Like us, all the committee members around this table want to work to provide a better tax system for Canadians. So I will be happy to answer your questions.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I thank my colleague for his question.
I will repeat myself and tell him that we have not changed the rules.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
At the Canada Revenue Agency, we apply the legislation that is the responsibility of…. If the act is to be amended, we would have to consult the Department of Finance. At the Canada Revenue Agency, no changes have been made to tax rules. They continue to apply, as they applied when your government held public consultations when you were in power. You did not change the rules at that time and, in turn, we continue to apply exactly those same rules.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
I met with the Auditor General over the winter on the objection process. We discussed his report. It was submitted and I have considered it.
We accepted all the recommendations on objections in the Auditor General's report. An action plan with the goal of reducing delays in processing objections is already being developed and will be submitted soon. We will make it public so that people know how to proceed when they have an objection.
We know that there is a backlog of objections and we really intend to reduce it. We want objections to be processed as quickly as possible. Service to Canadians is a priority for us.
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View Diane Lebouthillier Profile
Lib. (QC)
Thank you for your question.
As I mentioned before, what's important to us is that everyone pays their fair share and receives what they are entitled to. My goals are to have effective and efficient services that are geared to Canadians. That's actually at the heart of my mandate letter.
There are still services within the agency. Our goal is not to put people in difficult situations and shut down businesses, but to reach agreements with people to find the tax base that will enable the government to invest in public services, education and health, to help the poorest of the poor and to invest in infrastructure. That is what the Canada Revenue Agency is all about. There's always a way to reach a deal with the Canada Revenue Agency. Each case is treated separately. Our employees are there to help and support people, as well as to enter into agreements with them.
Perhaps Mr. Huppé could elaborate on that.
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Results: 91 - 105 of 210 | Page: 7 of 14

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