CRA received a TON of complaints in 2022 — mostly about the same thing

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The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) received a ton of complaints this year, and it was mostly about the same thing.

Canada’s Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, François Boileau, released his second annual report Service Matters: Numbers Speak Volumes on Tuesday.

It details both the achievements and shortcomings of the service provided by the CRA, and outlines trends in complaints.

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According to the report, the CRA received higher than usual volumes of complaints in 2021-2022.

In fact, complaints towards the CRA doubled compared to pre-pandemic days.

Boileau found that many of the complaints they received were specifically about the delays in receiving COVID-19 benefits.

Over 40% of the 1,746 complaints were from Canadians who experienced delays in getting their eligibility validated for these benefits, states the report.

Other top issues of concern include:

The quality of service provided by CRA contact centres
Delays in income tax and benefit returns and adjustment requests
Access to CRA accounts
Delays in receiving the Canada child benefit

OTO’s 2021-2022 Annual Report Infographic (CNW Group/Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson)

The report also includes three recommendations to improve the revenue agency’s service to Canadians.

The first recommendation from Boileau is that the CRA looks for ways for a taxpayer to receive a security code that allows Canadians to have full access to their CRA account the same day it’s requested.

The second recommendation is that the CRA find a way to provide in-person same-day identity verification for a taxpayer.

Lastly, Boileau recommends that the CRA makes it clear to Canadians when it’s administering a benefit that the increase in income could affect their other income-based benefits.

This report comes a day after applications opened for the federal government’s rental top-up program, which is administered by the CRA.