Ensure that the Canada Revenue Agency is a client-focused agency.

What success looks like

Improved client satisfaction levels, reduced wait times for inquiries, and simplified and easy to use processes.

Government's narrative on progress

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is adopting a client-centric approach to program and service delivery. Over the last year, the CRA: • appointed a Chief Service Officer who is leading the CRA’s service transformation • created an external advisory panel on service to provide advice in service design and delivery from industry experts • improved telephone service by migrating the business, benefits, and income tax enquiries call centres to the new Hosted Contact Centre Service (HCCS) platform • has extended the hours of operation of its Individual Enquiries Telephone Service for the duration of the tax filing season. From February 18 to April 30, 2019, telephone agents will be available Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 9 am to 9 pm (local time) weekdays, and from 9 am to 5 pm (local time) on Saturdays (except Easter weekend). • applied resources to better support the participating organizations in the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) and implemented an enhanced outreach program, increasing the number of individuals helped through the CVITP • introduced the "tell us once" approach in November 2017, making it easier for Canada Pension Plan recipients to update their banking information by enabling sharing of Direct Deposit information between ESDC and CRA • allowed individuals to pay their taxes at any Canada Post retail outlet • began informing businesses when mail is undeliverable and asking them to update their information • expanded the Liaison Officer service, helping small unincorporated businesses understand their tax obligations • launched CRA BizApp, a mobile web app for small businesses and sole proprietors • redesigned My Account, allowing users to quickly view their tax and benefit information and easily update their personal information • merged online mail and account alerts for individuals into a single service simply referred to as email notifications. • conducted the 2018 Serving You Better consultations, which encouraged small and medium businesses and accountants to share their feedback on how the CRA could improve its services. • opened three new Northern Service Centres in Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Iqaluit before the 2019 tax filing season on February 11, 2019 • conducted public opinion research with Indigenous communities to identify challenges related to tax filing and benefit application • Invested $34 million over five years to hire additional staff to process adjustments to T1 returns post-filing more quickly, reducing frustration for taxpayers and ensuring that vulnerable Canadians do not encounter unnecessary delays in calculating the credits and benefits to which they are entitled. • launched File My Return, a service that lets eligible Canadians file their income tax and benefit return through an automated phone service. • following Budget 2018’s announcement, the Agency, alongside central agencies, undertook a comprehensive review of the CRA’s service model. As a result of this review, Budget 2019 announced that resources will be reallocated internally to improve service delivery for Canadians. • published assignment and processing timeframes for objections, and new service standards for objections and taxpayer relief requests. • following Budget 2019’s announcement, the CRA will pursue its established plans and apply resources to resolve objections in a more timely manner. • enabled the online submission of the Disability Tax Credit Certificate, and supporting documents, as of February 2019, in My Account or Represent a Client. • The Dedicated Telephone Service (DTS) was established with funding from Budget 2016, which provided $12.7M for the three-year pilot project until December 31, 2019. The goal of the pilot project was to provide smaller income tax providers with better access to the resources they need to help solve their complex tax problems. • The DTS pilot project was expanded effective January 2, 2019. Formerly limited to service providers with three partners or less, in select provinces, the DTS is now available to all small and medium-sized income tax service providers across Canada (those in firms with 50 partners or less). In Budget 2019, the government announced on-going funding ($3.8 million per year) to make this well received program permanent, improving service for the millions of Canadians who work with tax service providers each year.

Note: this is the government's own description, not an independent assessment.