CFIB Survey: 76% of Tax Pros Say Service Has Gotten Worse

A recent CFIB survey revealed that 76% of pros already had significant concerns about worsening service levels and intimidation tactics at the CRA. Here’s what the April 2023 survey found:      

• Two-thirds (66%) of business owners felt intimidated by the CRA
• 51% felt as if they were treated like they did something wrong
• Nearly half (48%) felt that they were not being provided with the tax guidance their business needed
• Only 23% felt that the CRA is accountable for its mistakes or is making an effort to be small business friendly

The Business Enquiries Line is one of the only ways that small businesses can connect directly with the CRA, and it's important accurate information is provided, say the CFIB researchers. Yet:

• Only 23% of business owners
• 28% of tax practitioners felt confident in the answers provided by agents from the call centre

A common pain point was that CRA staff lacked adequate knowledge, with over half (58%) of tax practitioners rating the CRA staff knowledge as "poor."

CRA clearly has some work to do to upskill their workforce, which may be more challenging in a hybrid workplace.  However, the same obligation exists for professionals and taxpayers, each of whom have a significant role to play in ensuring a tax return is filed to the very best benefit of the household unit.

Bottom line:   An investment in tax education pays off.  On the professional side, the DMA™ Tax Services Specialist is highly trained to be an educator, advocate and steward of client resources, after tax. A more highly educated taxpayer who truly understands the tax return and how life, financial or economic trigger events can affect it will make better financial decisions and have a more confident relationship with the CRA, too. 

For CRA’s part, working to forge a collaborative and respectful relationship with both parties will get more of the right results:  to pay only the correct amount of tax and not more; and in the process, to collect all the social benefits the household is entitled to. That means its employees must be highly trained to provide the right answers to tax question.

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