The Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Taxpayer Bill of Rights is a service pledge, not a legally enforceable document, a federal judge has ruled. Blacklock's Reporter says the decision came in a case involving a tax filer who sought relief from penalties dating back 24 years, challenging the validity of the Bill of Rights.“The Federal Court has no power to enforce the Taxpayer Bill Of Rights, which is nothing more than a service pledge with no force of law,” wrote Justice Allyson Whyte Nowak. The 16-point Bill, introduced in 2007, includes promises such as a “right to be treated professionally, courteously and fairly,” a “right to privacy,” and the “right to formal review,” but Whyte Nowak emphasized that these are not enforceable legal rights.The ruling came as the taxpayer appealed for relief from penalties and interest on his 2000 tax return, with the CRA calculating monthly penalties at $3,672. The Federal Court’s decision follows a similar ruling from the Tax Court in February, which concluded that the Taxpayer Bill of Rights “is not a law and does not give rise to legal rights.” Justice Gaston Jorré of the Tax Court described it as "an aspirational document" and suggested it might be more appropriately named, though he did not provide alternatives.The effectiveness of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights has long been questioned. A 2018 Auditor General’s report found that the CRA routinely failed to consistently apply tax rules, contradicting the Bill’s stated promises. “We found the Canada Revenue Agency did not consistently apply tax rules when it audited or reviewed taxpayers’ files,” said the report, Compliance Activities.Despite these findings, CRA Commissioner Bob Hamilton denied that the Bill had failed, testifying in 2018: “I don’t consider it necessarily something that would be a complete failure. I see it as a challenge that we have to overcome.”At the same hearings, MPs expressed frustration over how taxpayers were treated by the CRA. “We get calls from constituents in tears trying to deal with the Canada Revenue Agency,” said then-Liberal MP Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.), who chaired the Commons finance committee at the time. Easter noted that constituents often felt “treated like a criminal” when interacting with CRA representatives, especially after long wait times.“There has to be a different attitude,” Easter concluded, highlighting the emotional toll that dealing with the CRA can have on tax filers.
The Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Taxpayer Bill of Rights is a service pledge, not a legally enforceable document, a federal judge has ruled. Blacklock's Reporter says the decision came in a case involving a tax filer who sought relief from penalties dating back 24 years, challenging the validity of the Bill of Rights.“The Federal Court has no power to enforce the Taxpayer Bill Of Rights, which is nothing more than a service pledge with no force of law,” wrote Justice Allyson Whyte Nowak. The 16-point Bill, introduced in 2007, includes promises such as a “right to be treated professionally, courteously and fairly,” a “right to privacy,” and the “right to formal review,” but Whyte Nowak emphasized that these are not enforceable legal rights.The ruling came as the taxpayer appealed for relief from penalties and interest on his 2000 tax return, with the CRA calculating monthly penalties at $3,672. The Federal Court’s decision follows a similar ruling from the Tax Court in February, which concluded that the Taxpayer Bill of Rights “is not a law and does not give rise to legal rights.” Justice Gaston Jorré of the Tax Court described it as "an aspirational document" and suggested it might be more appropriately named, though he did not provide alternatives.The effectiveness of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights has long been questioned. A 2018 Auditor General’s report found that the CRA routinely failed to consistently apply tax rules, contradicting the Bill’s stated promises. “We found the Canada Revenue Agency did not consistently apply tax rules when it audited or reviewed taxpayers’ files,” said the report, Compliance Activities.Despite these findings, CRA Commissioner Bob Hamilton denied that the Bill had failed, testifying in 2018: “I don’t consider it necessarily something that would be a complete failure. I see it as a challenge that we have to overcome.”At the same hearings, MPs expressed frustration over how taxpayers were treated by the CRA. “We get calls from constituents in tears trying to deal with the Canada Revenue Agency,” said then-Liberal MP Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.), who chaired the Commons finance committee at the time. Easter noted that constituents often felt “treated like a criminal” when interacting with CRA representatives, especially after long wait times.“There has to be a different attitude,” Easter concluded, highlighting the emotional toll that dealing with the CRA can have on tax filers.
