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Taxpayers’ Ombudsman
6-04-2014
The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman is an independent and impartial officer committed to ensuring transparency, accountability, and the fair treatment of taxpayers by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
The Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman (OTO) ensures that Canadians receive the professional service and fair treatment to which they are entitled by:
· facilitating access to CRA redress mechanisms;
· upholding the Taxpayer Bill of Rights;
· providing independent and impartial reviews of unresolved service or fairness complaints;
· conducting investigations of systemic service or fairness issues;
· making recommendations for corrective action; and
· raising awareness of the role of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman
The four standards that are essential to conducting the work of the OTO and, in turn, making a difference for Canadians are:
1. Independence
· The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman operates at arm’s length from the CRA.
2. Impartiality
· The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman is neither an advocate for taxpayers, nor a defender of the CRA. The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman considers the position of both parties when investigating a complaint.
3. Fairness
· The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman acts with equity and justice.
4. Confidentiality
· The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman holds communications with taxpayers seeking assistance in strict confidence and does not disclose confidential communications unless given permission to do so.
Generally, the OTO only reviews a complaint after all of the CRA’s internal resolution mechanisms have been exhausted. If a taxpayer is not satisfied with the way their service complaint was handled by the CRA, they can submit the details of the issue to the OTO.
The OTO strives to ensure that all taxpayers receive the service to which they are entitled from the CRA. It does not deal with matters for which other redress mechanisms exist, such as:
· the administration or enforcement of program legislation (other than to the extent that the review relates to service matters);
· Government of Canada legislation or CRA policy (other than to the extent that they relate to service matters);
· matters that are before the courts;
· service complaints that arose more than one year prior to the appointment of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman on February 21, 2008; or
· complaints that other statutory bodies are mandated to deal with.
· The OTO can be contacted by telephone, fax, or mail, Monday to Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
· Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman
50 O’Connor Street, Suite 724
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L2
Canada
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