Stay on top of the CRA !!!

trooper that is what the CBC wanted to concentrate on...how the CRA was not doing their job in processing tax returns.

They had plenty of warning but they were far from being professional in their job. In other words we are all familiar with...

Dereliction of Duties

The CRA put the mental health of veterans in jeopardy by NOT preparing to process these tax returns in a timely, professional manner.

As for putting yourself in the CRA's or GoC, VAC's cross-hairs? As you all know I have been an advocate for over 7 years and I've put myself out there for any of these departments to come after me and to date they haven't.

Why?

They know the press would have a field day with any repercussions against a veteran. I took VAC to court to get my disease recognized and won. Sean Bruyea's privacy was breached and he took them to court and won. Dennis Manuge took the GoC to court for us and he won.

All this to say you have to trust the "system" to protect you from bureaucrats who "think" they are above the rules and guidelines of the system.

I will give my opinion on going forward to the CBC in bringing to light problems which did occur in a good number of Veterans with respect to how Veterans were treated by the CRA in processing our 2013 returns.
I know many will disagree on how I see it, that's not a problem for me, just remember, it is only my opinion.

First off, before any one person goes forward with any public interview against the CRA, I think it is important to speak about topics,. that are topics that will have a positive outcome.
In other words, what said, can lead to and investigation, that will have some sort of a positive outcome for the Veterans in general.

Three things come to mind;

1. Speaking about how the CRA handled our T1198's.

2. The RC4288E form, tax relief, ( financial hardship ) ect......

3. Deemed taxes applied to our 1198 calculations.

Let me start with no# 2, the RC4288E form, in order to be approved for tax relief, penalties would have had to taken place, NO PENALTIES were ever applied, so no matter which way one sees it, going against the CRA with this, would in my mind never be won.
Same goes with financial hardship, no matter of your original return, and or any Deemed taxes that we may have encountered, how can one prove financial hardship when no penalties were applied.
I was charged Deemed taxes, do I like it, no, but what is winnable,  what is not winnable, this in my view is definitely not winnable.

No"3, Deemed taxes, the CRA followed the tax law to the fullest in applying this to our 1198 calculations.
So in my opinion, going against the CRA for this would not be winnable.

So the way in which I see it, leaves no# 1, the way in which the CRA as a hole, handled our 2013 returns, which included the T1198.
I truly believe that no"1 is the only avenue to pursue in this matter.
If others can shine some "FACTS" on numbers 2 and three, with respect to having a positive result, please come forward, facts only, remember, these are our brothers and sisters who will be going through with this interview.

In closing,

We here at CSAT help one another out, that's what we do.
I am going to try and attempt to help my fellow Veterans who maybe considering going forward to the CBC with their story, by giving some advice.
We must ask ourselves this, what are the chances of repercussion in revealing our Identity in going forward with this, let's not be fooled, your number is noted, so in my view the chances a very high.
The Ideal way to approach this in my mind, would be to not reveal your Identity, remember, once it's done, it's to late to change it, so bottom line here is whichever way you choose to do it, the decision lies with you.
This is only my way of reaching out to give my opinion, hoping to help other Veterans.
For those who have no problem with revealing your Identity, all I can say is go for it.

I am the person malteezers is referring to, yes my taxes took 4 months to do but I have not had any of the problems i read on CSAT.

I explained to the CBC producer that fear is what the GoC, VAC, CRA prey on. I put 100% of this shyte show on the shoulders of CRA and the GoC!

No veteran should have to go thru this. We were all loyal to our country and our country is failing us by allowing this to happen to our most seriously injured and vulnerable veterans.

If someone does want to Go Public please contact me via PM and I will forward the contact info for the CBC producer to you.

Just to remind those who are not members of the CSAT you can contact me via CSAT Forum Master link.

My husband (medically released 1990 -100% disabled) and I also contacted the CBC and are willing to lend support to this although, like all here, my husband expressed feelings of disloyalty and fear that there would be repercussions if he 'went public'.   We got a call from CBC today saying that they wanted to run this story for next Monday and were hoping to film it tomorrow.  Unfortunately, the only person willing to go on camera has had their case settled.  I really wish there was someone willing to go public on this. Is there really no one willing in this group?

Great work Triple !!!

Great Idea to send this link to the CBC, everything is in this link to allow for a clearer picture of this cluster.

I as others did request and internal investigation into the tax payer relief part, and also asked for the Deemed taxes to be waived.
The conclusion of this was as follows;
For the tax payer relief the answer given to me was no penalties were applied, resulting in not being able to be approved for tax relief.
For the Deemed taxes, the conclusion was that the CRA followed the letter of the law in full, in applying this to our 1198 calculations.

A couple of things to keep in mind here.

1. This investigation was done by the CRA itself, and no attempt was made by the CRA agents who were conducting our 1198's to try and have either the Deemed taxes waived, while processing our 1198's, or, to answer our call for a little relief from the tax relief form.

2. The above two points although may be important ones, and in turn could even be viewed as cruel, even though they may have followed the rules, no attempts to reach out and try to lesson some of the financial burden placed upon us, were even considered.
These two points are only two out of the many problems and or stress that the CRA has placed upon us, this link " stay on top of the CRA " will show the many others.

RCN you are absolutely correct if you had gotten the money when you were suppose to but still didn't pay your taxes on it and now decided to pay those back taxes then you would be charged interest and or penalty . however you would be allowed to file a request for tax relief and if you have a good reason they will cancel all of those.

but since the GOC stole the money you pay "what they call deemed tax " so they will not have to grant you relief under the fairness provision because its not interest ore a penalty but a tax.

funny thing is after reading what I believe is ALL of the tax legislation and most of that more times than I care to say . not once have I seen this called or defined as deemed tax . this calculation for deemed tax only seems to be called the prescribed rate of interest.

ya its stealing all right not including this under the fairness provision is unfair and thus the fairness provision is not satisfying its intent as to fairness.

propat

I am not in Hamilton but am right close to Vancouver, I have not been able to confirm that I was given the tax benefits that were due to me, after several months I finally got my DTC reassessed only a few weeks ago and the nearly $13,000 in deemed taxes is as far as I am concerned them stealing the money for the second time.

I would love to assist in this dog pile of unhealthy excrement but unfortunately or fortunately for me depending on which side of the line your tossing from I did receive a favorable decision from CRA but only after filing two T1 Adjustments and contacting the CRA Resolution Center with my complaint. I like you Triple T am so disgusted in this whole process that I point my finger not only at CRA but the team representing the “Class Action” as a whole. Our money was stolen from us yes, but so were our voices and our representation has done little to complete the task. Ask yourself this, would you as a commander leave the “Battlefield” littered with your own troops or would you ensure they were taken and properly looked after? Just saying, as for doing an interview I may not be the best person as I put myself through hell to get this sorted out and I honestly can’t see myself going back to stand in line for another kick in the balls.
I truly feel the pain in all of this, but you can use whatever I posted on these pages. Good luck

Further to my previous post, CBC is unable to access personal tax info so they would require a "group" of individuals willing to tell their story. I personally am in the Niagara Region and they would be willing to set up in the area of Hamilton if there were some people close by who are able to attend. If you or someone you know wishes to participate, send me a private message, or you can contact the producer directly;

Manjula Dufresne
Producer,
CBC National TV News
Vancouver Bureau
Cell: 604-787-6727
Desk: 604-662-6875
Twitter: @dufresnm

Also, my experience and knowledge of the many different situations many of us are encountering is limited. I have provided the link to the "Keep On Top of the CRA" thread portion of this site in order that CBC can get a general indication that the BS coming out of CRA is not within the scope of an annomally and presents a case for investigation. I know there were some individuals who have sent in the RC4288E Request For Taxpayer Relief, and the responses from CRA were varied and inconsistant. It lacks uniformity in the way it has been applied. Any examples you can share to lend weight to this issue would be greatly appreciated! If you or someone you know has a story they want to share, annonymously if you wish, just send PM to myself or contact the individual above.

TTT

Triple,

first off, excellent e-mail written to the CBC.

As far as the on camera interview goes, Sapper is correct, you can go in a black out mode for the interview,
you can tell the CBC that you are afraid of repercussion from the CRA or in fact the GOC in general.

One thing is for certain, if you decide to go through with this, you will raise the attention of the public in general.

Also, your story is widespread within those of us Veterans who were put through this undue stress.
Like you say, how many Veterans have not had their 1198 completed by the CRA, and excepted the return as is because they thought that the CRA had taken care of it.
The CRA does not contact us with regards to the 1198 not being completed, it is up to each and every one of us to ensure that they do what they are suppose to do in the first place.
That is not our responsibility, it is their responsibility.

Having said all that, the only advice I can give you is, if you cannot find someone else to do the interview, and you feel that by doing it yourself will cause you stress,
don't do it.

Triple T...good post. I know it is difficult to go on camera, as I have had to do in the past regarding the Sisip Clawback. I was very nervous and didn't seem to get the message out properly. They can conceal your identity with blackout and not reveal your name. You can also request the questions they are going to ask of you, to write your answers down carefully prior to the interview. This is obviously a very screwed up situation for many of us, but perhaps one that suffers as you do would be the exact face required for this on-camera interview. The spectre of PTSD is probably one of the most difficult injuries to handle stress with. The stress caused by the feds and CRA with regards to this settlement. You can do this. You may stand alone....but you are never alone!
Sapper

Morning folk's. For many of us, this tax assessment ordeal has been an absolute nightmare. A few days ago I received a third request from CRA asking for T1198E. I broke out into a clammy sweat and my left arm went numb. Within the hour I was hooked up to an ECG. I'm ok, but to say that "I lost it", would be the understatement of the year! I for one have had enough. I sat down and wrote an e-mail to Kathy Tomlinson of CBC's "Go Public" which I have attached below(text only)

    I am a Canadian Forces veteran and a co-plaintiff in the recent SISIP-LTD Class Action lawsuit Manuge v. Government of Canada, whereby I received a settlement representing 10 years of disability benefits that, according to the Honourable Justice Barns of the Supreme Court of Canada, were illegally stolen from me by the very government whom I swore to honour and protect. That in itself is a tragedy affecting upwards of 8500+ Armed Forces veterans. Unfortunately, the stress and uncertainty had only just begun.


In accordance with Canada Revenue Agency(CRA) policy, the settlement each veteran received, constitutes a “Qualifying Retroactive Lump-Sum Payment”(QRLSP) and is subject to Federal and Provincial tax. Fair enough! However, as I've previously mentioned, the QRLSP that myself and my fellow veterans received were disability benefit's clawed back by the federal government, and when Manual Life SISIP-LTD released the funds, each member of the class was issued a T1198E Statement of Qualifying Retroactive Lump-Sum Payment, in order to facilitate spreading the lump sum over the years that the payments should have been received, thereby reducing the “taxes owed”.


My storey is only one, of thousands of similar stories you would hear from other class members who have had to endure the anguish and stress of uncertainty. CRA seems to have been caught completely unaware of the situation. I can only assume that in this day and age, the majority of tax returns are filed electronically, however the 8500+ T1198E Statement of Qualifying Retroactive Lump-Sum Payment issued to each member by Manual Life necessitates paper filing because it involves multiple tax years, and according to CRA policy, you cannot E-File your taxes for multiple years. I believe, from the many horror stories I am aware of, that the CRA became overwhelmed with the number of TT1198E's that required a special calculation. The members taxes are calculated using the special calculation that involves spreading the amount over multiple years and if it benefit's the member, that is the figure used. The member is entitled to a copy of the figures used in the calculation. Unfortunately, the way in which this special calculation is applied is neither fair, nor is it consistent.


I am a disabled vet with an annual taxable income of approximately $24,000.00. Probably one of the easiest tax returns to prepare. My federal and provincial tax annually is approximately 26% of my gross income. Approximately $7000.00. Initially my taxes were assessed without the benefit of the T1198E calculation. The lump sum payment I received, combined with my military pension placed me in a 48% tax bracket resulting in $97,000.00 taxes owing. I received that assessment on 29 April 2014. Since then I have been sick to my stomach. The stress this is having on me is almost unbearable. I can't deal with it. I am self medicating myself daily trying to make the depression go away. My family is falling apart, I can't spend any money, I can't do anything, and now I'm getting calls from CRA collections looking for their money. Why can't they just do my taxes using the T1198E? I'm certain if they spread the amount over the 10 years as I am entitled, and apply my Disability Tax Credit going back the same time frame, I would most certainly expect a refund instead of $97,000.00 taxes owed!? I was required to submit a T1 Adjustment request along with another copy of the T1198E. That was in May. I am still waiting for a re-assessment and it's end October. I've had a third request for paperwork they have received on 2 prior occasions. What in the hell is going on? What is wrong with my assessment that it takes 7 month's to complete?


Like myself, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of veterans who have had their taxes assessed by CRA, “without” having the benefit of the T1198E Statement of Qualifying Retroactive Lump-Sum Payment calculation, thereby resulting in the lump sum payment being assessed in the tax year it was received, catapulting the member into a much higher tax bracket and a higher tax debt. And for no good reason! This is outrageous and unacceptable. I can say with certainty that there are veterans living on the street who have no idea that they have been ripped off “AGAIN”!! I can't help but think that it's all part of the GOC's plan to recoup as much of the settlement money as possible. “Lets only adjust the taxes of those veteran’s who are well enough or sober enough to protest”! I for one am suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and for the last 6 month's have been living in fear and anguish. I can't do anything, can't spend money, continuously worried and stressed out that a simple tax calculation has become an absolute nightmare, not only for me but for potentially thousands of disabled veterans and their families.


Someone must be held accountable for this quagmire! As taxpayers, my fellow veterans and myself, along with all taxpayers in this country are entitled to the same level of service and professionalism consistent with the Canada Revenue Agency's Mission Statement. My heart goes out to all of those individuals who have had to endure something less.

I know it must sound like the mother of all babbles, however I've received a request for an "on camera interview". Knowing full well that my situation is not unique to me, I don't feel that I am up to the task of representing myself, let alone my fellow veteran's. To be truthful, it never even occured to me they would want an on camera interview. And in hindsight, how can my story be corroborated if no one else steps up with their story. Now I feel like I've started something I can't finish. I want everyone to know what kind of "cluster**** is going down in CRA, and due to the numbers of assessment's involved, I can't for the life of me imagine that some SOB who is running the show is not aware of this mess. I know it might sound too simple, but perhaps a directive to each department to clarify would help a little.

I decided to put this out there in the hopes that someone would have some advice. Or perhap's there might be someone with their wits about them willing to do an on camera interview. I more than likely will do an "off camera" interview to tell my own story and hope that Kathy can do some digging.

Hammer town proud! We know how to Honour our fallen! RIP brother and save me a seat at the bar with our fallen comrades!

That's really good to hear devans. Must be a heck of a relief... I know the feeling, might even take time to sink in. cheers! pinger.

It is such a great feeling to finally be able to put this behind and have no worries at all and move on with life with money in the bank and 100 percent debt free. Life is good.