The federal government says that a new program to ensure millions of lower-income individuals automate their tax filings will help alleviate struggles at the Canada Revenue Agency. Read MoreThe federal government says the new system will create “efficiencies” and alleviate pressures on Canada’s struggling tax agency.
The federal government says the new system will create “efficiencies” and alleviate pressures on Canada’s struggling tax agency.
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The federal government says that a new program to ensure millions of lower-income individuals automate their tax filings will help alleviate struggles at the Canada Revenue Agency.
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On Oct. 10, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the new automated tax filing system, which will complement the existing SimpleFile service that helps Canadians with simple tax file income taxes. The new system will automatically pre-fill tax returns for around one million lower-income individuals starting with the 2026 tax year, allowing them to receive federal benefits they’re entitled to.
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In recent months, the CRA has struggled with backlogs at its call centres, culminating in Finance and National Revenue Minister François-Philippe Champagne stepping in to mandate a 100-day plan to get the agency back on tack. The plan did not include additional funding for the agency, which had backtracked on earlier plans to end around 850 contracts for employees at call centres in September.
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John Fragos, a spokesperson for the Finance minister’s office, said that the new system would “alleviate pressure on the CRA by way of efficiencies,” while also ensuring that those who hadn’t filed tax returns in the past would be able to access benefits they wouldn’t otherwise.
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“This means more Canadian families will now be able to access affordability-forward programs like the Canada Child Benefit, the Canadian Dental Care Plan and the GST/HST Credit,” Fragos said.
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The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE), which represents CRA employees, was concerned about what the announcement could mean for some of its members’ jobs.
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In an interview, UTE president Marc Brière said he expected that the new system could result in some job losses at the CRA “down the road.”
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“We cannot be against an announcement that improves service, but I’ve got some concerns with the levels of staffing at the CRA. It’s already being impacted severely,” he said.
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Brière said it was still too early to tell what the ultimate effect of the new system would be as the union had not been briefed or consulted on the impacts of the new system.
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Despite expanding the contracts of 850 workers in its call centres, the CRA has also ended contracts for 250 employees at tax centres. While tax centres are separate from call centres, the issues that taxpayers call about often originate in files being processed at tax centres.
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Fragos added that the new system would make Canada a leader in the G7, following only Germany with an automated tax system that improved benefit access to low-income citizens.
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