Budget 2025 aims for the CRA to automatically deliver benefits to 5.5M Canadians. Our association, which represents the tax preparation and software industry, wholeheartedly supports taxpayers getting the benefits to which they are entitled.
Our industry already provides free filing options for low-income Canadians. We were ready to step up and do more. However, the government decided to spend $71M to implement this new program. We could have achieved the same objectives, but at no cost to Canadian taxpayers.
All Canadians should worry about this change, especially two weeks after it was revealed that the CRA struggles to provide information to Canadians that call them, giving inaccurate information 83% of the time.This new project therefore risks creating millions of new calls per year to the CRA with a 83% error rate, generating cost overruns.
TFEC believes that we can achieve the Government’s objective — and save taxpayer dollars — if the CRA collaborates with industry.