February 16, 2010 by Dan White.

There are a number of different types of TaxReps;

It is very important to match the right TaxRep to the right tax problem. So review the following with just thought to what is right for you.

A TaxRep can come from any one of the following areas.

1. A Lawyer
2. An Accountant
3. A Tax Consultant
4. An Expert Witness.

The practice of law is very broad and you need a specialist in Tax Litigation. If you pick a Lawyer as a TaxRep, it could be your best choice, depending on your situation. If your situation is one where you know your activities involve a criminal element, and the Lawyer is a litigator, who is fully abreast of CRA procedures, then this is where you need to lean. It is normally the most expensive option. A tax litigation Lawyer is your best bet for client material privilege as well as client-solicitor privilege. Privilege is normally not of particular concern if you are not likely going to court.

Accounting is also a broad field, and you will require an accountant who is familiar with Taxes. Not all accountants specialize in taxation. If you are not engaged in a criminal activity, and you just need to get your tax returns caught up, a licensed accountant is a good idea. The chances of you getting audited are low if a licensed accountant does your tax returns. Accountant’s licenses are vulnerable, so they tend to be very conservative in their approach to doing tax returns. As a result a good accountant’s work will reduce your chances of being audited. If you are audited any good accountant can easily explain how they came up with the numbers on your tax returns. Accountants are normally considerably less expensive than Lawyers. However accountants have a monkey on their back when it comes to fighting with CRA. If you are in for a fight, an accountant may not be your best bet.

Tax Consultants can be any combination of 1, 2 and 4. With Tax Consultants you need to be especially concerned with their experience and track record. The concern is that the consultant may not have any credentials. The opposite side of that coin is that they also can be more aggressive in dealing with CRA… because they don’t have a license to lose. You need to make sure that you know that the consultant deals with CRA on a daily basis and has been doing so for a long time.

An Expert Witness, can be any combination of 1,2 or 3. An expert witness can be hired to present the material you have in court. What this means is that if you decide to defend yourself in General procedures in tax court, you can rely on your Expert Witness to testify as to the reasons, evidence, tax laws and cases relied on. While this is not as good as hiring a Lawyer it is an excellent option if you simply cannot afford a Lawyer. Your Expert Witness can also act as a Material Witness. This would apply when they are involved in the actual activities surrounding your tax problems. Lawyers often bring in such witnesses to support their case… Usually it would be as a Material Witness, however if an inexperienced Lawyer wanted to enhance their case, they too would bring in the Expert Witness.

Depending on your particular situation will dictate which is your better choice.

Tax Audit Solutions is a TaxRep (Tax Representative) we deal right across the board in all kinds of tax problems. If a lawyer is needed, we bring one in. We consult with Accountants who are outstanding in their fields. We do both Material and Expert Witness roles. We are fully familiar with CRA and their rules, procedures and their tactics. We always start off on a friendly note with CRA, but if necessary, we are aggressive, we fear no evil. We have tons of experience from dealing with CRA every day. We are in constant contact with various experts across the country. We believe that if you have a tax problem where a lot of money is on the line, we are your best choice for representation in defending you against the TaxMan.

To learn more about Tax Representation go to www.taxauditsolutions.ca

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February 16, 2010 by Dan White.

 Due to dealing with CRA on a daily basis, and further, being we are the ones who are approached by Canadians who have been mistreated, we naturally don’t see the ombudsman’s report as any kind of a surprise.

To be fair to CRA… no one ever comes to us about them being treated well, so we often forget that there are a lot of reasonable CRA staff out there.

We just get exposed to the darker side of CRA.

The folowing artice demonstrates the point. You do not get 5,000 complaint inquirieys becuase there is no abuse out there. On the contrary the abuse is real and Canadians across the land are surrering from CRA abuse.

To learn more about what to do in cases of CRA abuse, please go to www.taxauditsolutions.ca

Dan White

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Canada’s tax ombudsman investigated 532 complaints last year: Report

By Allison Cross, Canwest News ServiceDecember 17, 2009

OTTAWA — A report produced by Canada’s independent tax ombudsman has found some problems with the way the Canada Revenue Agency hands out tax benefits and treats its taxpayers.

The report says investigations by the ombudsman led to CRA apologizing to taxpayers; the government releasing seized bank accounts; changes in CRA procedure and the payment of benefits or refunds.

Eighty-four cases were carried over into the next fiscal year and 422 files were closed without an investigation.

“When you have large systems in place, sometimes general rules are universally applied (and) rules don’t lead to the desired result in every case,” said ombudsman J. Paul Dube, during a media teleconference Tuesday. “So that’s what we’re there to do. Intervene in those cases.”

The office of Canada’s independent taxpayers’ ombudsman received nearly 5,000 inquiries and investigated 532 individual complaints related to service provided by CRA over the last fiscal year, Dube said.

A resolved case included in the report involved a single mother living on minimum wage, who applied for an increase in her Canada Child Tax Benefit and other family allowance supplements, after she separated from her common-law husband. When CRA did not accept proof she provided of her new marital status and asked for a repayment of $4,200, the ombudsman intervened and CRA eventually issued her a payment of $1,500.

“Canadians are entitled to professional service and fair treatment, and . . . (access) to an independent and impartial ombudsman when they feel they have not received the service and treatment to which they are entitled,” Dube said.

The proper distribution of the Canada Child Tax Benefit, the right to clear, complete, accurate, and timely information, the right to fair treatment and the right to professional service are among the systemic problems identified in the report.

In February 2008, Dube was appointed to the position of Canada’s taxpayers’ ombudsman, the first of its kind in Canada, in order to keep tabs on the CRA and report his findings to Revenue Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn.

The report has been introduced in Parliament and similar undertakings are to be produced annually.

Future reports will include more detailed examinations into systemic problems at CRA, and will propose possible solutions, the report says.

“Fair treatment and professional service are central to our government’s ability to sustain Canada’s prosperity,” said Blackburn in a news release. “The taxpayers’ ombudsman provides an added measure of assurance that the Canada Revenue Agency treats all taxpayers with fairness and respect, in accordance with the taxpayer bill of rights.”

The CRA processes approximately 24 million individual tax returns each year, in addition to 1.6 million corporate returns.

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