The Workplace of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) acquired the best variety of complaints in three years, in line with its newest annual report launched this week.
The OTO, which is chargeable for reviewing service-related complaints concerning the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), mentioned it noticed a 27 per cent surge in complaints within the 2025-2026 tax yr in contrast with the earlier yr. Complaints included processing delays with earnings tax types, extreme name wait occasions and inaccurate or unclear data from brokers.
Jamie Golombek , managing director, tax and property planning, at Canadian Imperial Financial institution of Commerce (CIBC), mentioned that is precisely in step with what CIBC has been listening to from shoppers, advisers and accountants.
“The extent of frustration has reached almost an all-time excessive that I can keep in mind, aside from maybe throughout COVID,” Golombek mentioned. “The taxpayer is the shopper and taxes are a serious line merchandise for many households in Canada. To have the ability to take care of that in an open, clear and truthful method, I feel, is of crucial significance,” he added.
“The federal government must step up and both rent the fitting folks, extra folks or simply work on a plan to have the ability to get again to Canadians sooner,” he mentioned.
The CRA took almost a yr (as much as 50 weeks) to course of complicated return changes, nicely surpassing its personal service customary of 20 weeks, which was launched within the 2024-2025 fiscal yr. Earlier this month, the OTO mentioned it will launch a systematic examination to determine the foundation causes behind these delays and ombudsperson François Boileau mentioned he hopes his workplace can have its findings prepared by the top of the yr.
Boileau mentioned the 50-week course of occasions are unacceptable, including that when taxpayers don’t know what is going on with their recordsdata, they name the CRA, which will help clog up the contact centres.
“It’s a vicious circle, in a manner,” Boileau mentioned. “The stress on the CRA is immense.”
Boileau mentioned extra public consciousness of his workplace could have elevated the variety of complaints it has acquired up to now yr as nicely.
Different frequent areas of concern included assortment actions allegedly not contemplating taxpayers’ particular person circumstances, delays skilled with the CRA’s Service Suggestions Program and problem accessing CRA accounts, in line with the report.
Boileau supplied seven suggestions within the report for the CRA to enhance its providers, resembling permitting Canadians to request a callback with out calling a contact centre first, enhancing the Verify CRA processing occasions software and progress tracker in CRA accounts and assembly the wants of weak populations in its synthetic intelligence technique.
“The CRA welcomes the suggestions within the Ombudsperson’s annual report as a possibility to proceed enhancing transparency and repair supply,” mentioned Nina Ioussoupova, a spokesperson for the company, in an e-mail to Monetary Put up.
On its web site, the CRA has agreed to many of the suggestions barring the final, which recommends expanded eligibility for automated tax submitting so that every one taxpayers in a easy tax state of affairs, not simply low-income people, can entry pre-filled tax returns of their CRA accounts. It is a ministerial resolution, the CRA mentioned on its web site.
Boileau mentioned he has not but acquired a response from the finance minister on this suggestion.
Golombek mentioned he thought the expanded eligibility for automated tax submitting was “an excellent concept,” estimating that the CRA might in all probability pre-fill about 80 per cent of Canadians’ returns with the data it already has.
Final fall, Finance and Nationwide Income Minister François-Philippe Champagne directed the CRA to implement a 100-day plan to resolve “unacceptable” ranges of service for Canadians, together with name centre points.
Ioussoupova mentioned in an e-mail the CRA has since made progress to strengthen its providers, facilitate entry and cut back delays following the plan’s launch.
“We proceed to construct on the progress achieved underneath this plan by reworking and modernizing our operations, utilizing digital instruments, together with AI, automating processes, and streamlining our enterprise practices.”
The 2025 tax season was “horrible,” mentioned Marc Brière, nationwide president of the Union of Taxation Workers’ (UTE), which represents greater than 35,000 staff of the CRA.
Brière mentioned important workforce reductions severely impacted the company’s customary of service. About 10,000 staff have been let go, with about 3,500 staffers minimize from the decision centres since Could 2024, he mentioned.
“Individuals have been drowning within the contact facilities,” he mentioned, including that the CRA was answering about 5 per cent of calls final summer time and had about 300,000 T1 return circumstances within the backlog at one level. “The state of affairs was catastrophic.”
Nonetheless, he mentioned he believes the most recent tax season noticed enhancements after the CRA rehired 2,500 staff. It’s much less clear whether or not the CRA will lengthen these staff’ contracts, which expire in September, he mentioned.
Boileau mentioned he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the 2026-2027 yr will go extra easily for the CRA.
• E-mail: slouis@postmedia.com
