CRA Deceit Again

[Nameless_1]

On 4 June this year the CRA posted the following notice that seems to have attracted scant attention in the media

See http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/hrmnztn/whtsnw-eng.html

"On June 10, 2010, the first Ontario Sales Tax Transition Benefit (OSTTB) payments will start to be mailed to eligible Ontario residents whose 2009 income tax return was assessed by May 10, 2010. Other eligible taxpayers whose returns were assessed after May 10, 2010, can expect their first OSTTB payment within four to eight weeks after their return is assessed."

So your refund that you were expecting in early June may well be delayed until August or September. Such tactics to delay payment for the majority of taxpayers is shameful. This also provides a real incentive for the CRA to do everything they can to delay your assessment.

Try calling your MP.

N_1

 

[RAWD]

This is SOP for CRA. They don't cut refunds until they've assessed your outstanding returns, just in case you owe.

4-8 weeks is standard processing time.

If you efiled/telefiled or just plain old filed early, you'll be fine.

 

[cute-bald]

Like I have said before, the Government is owned by & is now one big crooked corporation, So I am not the least surprised. These benefit payments are laughable since they give scant compensation for the total increase that everyone who eats, pays rent & puts cloths on their back. Will expect in a couple of years when the media is no longer interested in the topic that those benefits will be axed & the Government will continue to sqander its revenue & again be looking for new ways to fleece the masses.

 

[nottyboi]

3 x $100 for a single person.. bwa hah aha haha I need to get into the underground economy.. this tax system is just crushing. But in terms of payment, I don't think it is deceitful. As long as they pay you in a reasonable amount of time, what difference does it make.

 

[thompo69]

On 4 June this year the CRA posted the following notice that seems to have attracted scant attention in the media

See http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/hrmnztn/whtsnw-eng.html

"On June 10, 2010, the first Ontario Sales Tax Transition Benefit (OSTTB) payments will start to be mailed to eligible Ontario residents whose 2009 income tax return was assessed by May 10, 2010. Other eligible taxpayers whose returns were assessed after May 10, 2010, can expect their first OSTTB payment within four to eight weeks after their return is assessed."

So your refund that you were expecting in early June may well be delayed until August or September. Such tactics to delay payment for the majority of taxpayers is shameful. This also provides a real incentive for the CRA to do everything they can to delay your assessment.

Try calling your MP.

N_1

How is there any deceit there at all? If you paid on time, you'll get your cheque on time. If you paid late, your cheque will be late. Sounds fair to me.

 

[Moraff]

How is there any deceit there at all? If you paid on time, you'll get your cheque on time. If you paid late, your cheque will be late. Sounds fair to me.

Well since they say it can take 4-6 weeks to get your return processed, those who waited until the last minute to file (30 Apr) will likely not all have their returns processed by the 10 May deadline, so will get their OSTTB pmt in July instead of June.

Which sucks, but next year don't wait until the last day to file. I efiled ours in mid-March and had them done in under 2 weeks. And my "My Account" shows my OSTTB will arrive on time.

 

[Nameless_1]

IMO, my topic has little to do with how long it takes CRA to process a return. It's really about why they initially told us we would receive the refund in June and now suddenly and without warning admit it really may be months later. That to me is deceit. The longer they can stretch out their evaluation cycle the later they can pay you. We were not advised of this change before 30 April and it is standard accounting practice to defer any payment to the latest legal date. And that's just what I did. Filed and paid before 30 April. Now they tell me well, there may be some delay we "forgot" to tell you Note the CRA annoucement was first made known on 4 June, over a month after the filing deadline.

 

[Moraff]

Actually had you read their website, the following information was up there well before the filing deadline.......

"5. When will I get my OSTTB payment?
When we do the initial determination for each of the three payments and our records show that you meet the eligibility criteria and the required return has been assessed, your OSTTB payments will be issued in mid‑June 2010, mid‑December 2010, and mid‑June 2011.

If your return has not been assessed when we do our determination, you can expect your OSTTB payment(s) within four to eight weeks after we assess your return."

So if you are a regular filer you would be aware that it could take 4-6 weeks to get your return processed and that for payments issued in June, they would probably have to start working on them sometime in May (that 4-6 wk processing time again) and therefore if you absolutely wanted to make sure you got the payment on time, you might want to file a little earlier.

 

[shakenbake]

Don't blame the CRA comlpetely. The Province has to share some of the blame.

"Policy enquiries
If you have a tax policy question about the OSTTB program, you can call the Province of Ontario at 1-866-ONT-TAXS (1-866-668-8297)."

 

[needinit]

So what's wrong with this...you werre supposed to have submitted your return by April 30th. I got my refund into my bank account about 12 days later (eFiled). I think that is pretty efficient as I got over $12k back!

 

[Nameless_1]

Actually had you read their website, the following information was up there well before the filing deadline.......
earlier.

Thanks for your contribution and I'd like very much to see the actual URL source for your assertion that this was publicized well before the filing time. This claim seems to conflict with my original comment (for which I did provide the source info). It's not that I doubt what you say, I'd just like to see the original link. Thanks for keeping this a very civilized discussion.
N_1

 

[Moraff]

Thanks for your contribution and I'd like very much to see the actual URL source for your assertion that this was publicized well before the filing time. This claim seems to conflict with my original comment (for which I did provide the source info). It's not that I doubt what you say, I'd just like to see the original link. Thanks for keeping this a very civilized discussion.
N_1

The link for my quote is: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/bnfts/rltd_prgrms/fq_sttb-eng.html#q5

Not sure when exactly it went up, but do know that it was there in early April when I first checked. The announcement on the OSTTB page that announces the exact date of issuance is fairly new.

I understand you being miffed as I think it would have been better of them to do the calculation of the OSTTB at least 4 weeks after Apr 30th so that people who filed by the deadline had a reasonable chance to get the OSTTB on time (assuming no problems with their returns) but I disagree that it is "deceit" on CRA's part.

Do keep in mind that CRA is only administering the program.... the details are set by the province (probably with some CRA input I'm sure, but still ultimately their decision on timing)