Canada Revenue Agency | New automatic system to help Canadians get their benefits

(Ottawa) The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will pilot a new automatic system next year to help vulnerable Canadians who don’t file taxes get their benefits.

As indicated in the federal budget presented this week, the CRA will present a plan in 2024 to expand the service, after consulting with stakeholders and community organizations.

The move to automatic tax filing, which was first promised in the 2020 Speech from the Throne, is one of many budget measures the Liberals say are aimed at helping Canadians with the cost of the life.

Experts and advocates have called for automatic filing, noting that many vulnerable Canadians are not receiving the benefits to which they are entitled.

The federal government is increasingly relying on the Canada Revenue Agency to provide income-tested benefits to individuals. This includes the Canada Child Benefit, the recent supplement to the Canada Housing Benefit and the temporary doubling of the GST tax credit.

According to a 2020 report co-authored by Jennifer Robson, associate professor of political management at Carleton University, 10-12% of Canadians do not file taxes, especially in lower income brackets.

The report estimates that the value of lost benefits for non-filers of working age was $1.7 billion in 2015.

The federal budget also says the CRA will expand access to a service introduced in 2018 that allows some low- and fixed-income Canadians to automatically file simple returns over the phone.

Two million Canadians will be eligible for this service called “File My Return” by 2025.