hereMore than 400 auditors and staff at the Canada Revenue Agency who investigate and track down tax cheats were told Wednesday that their jobs are in jeopardy as another wave of job cut notices washed over Canada’s public service.
By the time the day was done, an estimated 5,225 members of the largest federal public service unions had been told they could soon be out of a job. That brings to more than 24,605 the number of unionized public servants who have received workforce adjustment letters since the government began implementing its strategic and operating review.
While not everyone who receives a workforce adjustment letter will lose their job, the notices once again gave a glimpse into the kinds of departments and jobs Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government have targeted.
While the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was spared in the previous waves of job notices in the spring, with the tax rush now over, its staff began to feel the impact of the cuts.
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada was told that close to 400 auditors who work with the Criminal Investigations, Special Enforcement and Voluntary Disclosure sections of agency received notice today that their jobs were in jeopardy. The Public Service Alliance of Canada was told that 671 members received workforce adjustment notices today and that 399 of those positions will be eliminated. The union was told some of the positions in the sections that track down and investigate tax evaders were being cut because enforcement work was being consolidated. Others work at the cash and inquiry counters where taxpayers can go in person for service.
Wednesday evening, the CRA announced that it would discontinue its Telefile service which allows individuals to file simple tax returns by phone. The agency said only 1.2 per cent of tax returns are filed by Telefile.
Chris Aylward, national executive vice-president of PSAC and a longtime member of the Union of Tax Employees which represents staff at the Canada Revenue Agency, said the cuts will affect the agency’s ability to investigate tax evasion.
“What that is going to mean is literally millions of dollars in lost income, lost revenue for the government by eliminating those positions because those positions deal a lot with those who don’t disclose and the underground economy as well.”
However, Nancy Bishay, director of communications to Revenue Minister Gail Shea, say the workforce adjustment notices won’t reduce CRA’s ability to enforce tax laws.
“I want to be clear that no compliance or enforcement capacity will be diminished by the measures related to the letters that were issued yesterday,” Bishay wrote in an e-mail to iPolitics Thursday. “In fact, the changes are meant to bolster those efforts.
“As an example, by having our specialized experts in the area of tax crimes located within close proximity of the RCMP and Public Prosecution Services Canada (PPSC), we will see an enhanced and coordinated focus on those who choose to commit such crimes. The announcement will not result in fewer auditors – CRA is simply making better use of the resources it has so that Canada can continue to be a world leader in combatting tax evasion.”
Liberal Senator Percy Downe, who has doggedly questioned the government about bank accounts in offshore tax havens held by Canadians, was sharply critical of the decision to cut investigative and enforcement positions.
“This is good news for every Canadian who is hiding their money overseas and trying to avoid taxes,” he said. “It’s unbelievable that with the information that the government has received about the large number of Canadians that have hidden overseas accounts that they are cutting back the various people who are required to not only track these people down but to collect the money on behalf of all Canadians so that these cheats don’t get away with not paying their fair share.”
Downe said CRA is already slow to follow up on tax evasion investigations, particularly the names it has received of Canadians who have millions of dollars stashed away in offshore tax havens such as Liechtenstein.
“They needed more resources, not less.”
Downe also believes the move could cost Canada’s economy millions in lost revenue due to tax evasion.
While the Canada Revenue Agency was hit hard by Wednesday’s announcements, the department that was hardest hit was Human Resources and Skills Development (HRSD) where 2,127 people were told their positions may be eliminated. The majority of those employees, 1,964, are members of PSAC and an estimated 1,450 of them work for Service Canada which handles everything from employment insurance claims to pensions and passports.
Another 91 are members of PIPSC and 72 are members of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) which represents economists and social science experts.
Aylward says the HRSD cuts will affect services available to Canadians.
“They are called Service Canada for a reason,” said Aylward. “They provide primary frontline service to Canadians and when this government says Canadians won’t feel a thing, we know that is misleading.”
The third hardest hit department was Justice where 674 employees were told their services may no longer be needed. PSAC says 483 of its members at Justice got notices, most of them in areas such as communications, information, library workers and access to information records management workers. Corbett said 145 PIPSC members are affected, largely in information technology.
Corbett said some of the cuts, like 298 of his members at Fisheries and Oceans – many of them biologists – who got notices Friday, appear to be a direct result of the Conservative government’s omnibus budget implementation bill.
“They’re clearing the way for big projects like pipelines.”
Original Article
Source: ipolitics
Author: Elizabeth Thompson
By the time the day was done, an estimated 5,225 members of the largest federal public service unions had been told they could soon be out of a job. That brings to more than 24,605 the number of unionized public servants who have received workforce adjustment letters since the government began implementing its strategic and operating review.
While not everyone who receives a workforce adjustment letter will lose their job, the notices once again gave a glimpse into the kinds of departments and jobs Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government have targeted.
While the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was spared in the previous waves of job notices in the spring, with the tax rush now over, its staff began to feel the impact of the cuts.
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada was told that close to 400 auditors who work with the Criminal Investigations, Special Enforcement and Voluntary Disclosure sections of agency received notice today that their jobs were in jeopardy. The Public Service Alliance of Canada was told that 671 members received workforce adjustment notices today and that 399 of those positions will be eliminated. The union was told some of the positions in the sections that track down and investigate tax evaders were being cut because enforcement work was being consolidated. Others work at the cash and inquiry counters where taxpayers can go in person for service.
Wednesday evening, the CRA announced that it would discontinue its Telefile service which allows individuals to file simple tax returns by phone. The agency said only 1.2 per cent of tax returns are filed by Telefile.
Chris Aylward, national executive vice-president of PSAC and a longtime member of the Union of Tax Employees which represents staff at the Canada Revenue Agency, said the cuts will affect the agency’s ability to investigate tax evasion.
“What that is going to mean is literally millions of dollars in lost income, lost revenue for the government by eliminating those positions because those positions deal a lot with those who don’t disclose and the underground economy as well.”
However, Nancy Bishay, director of communications to Revenue Minister Gail Shea, say the workforce adjustment notices won’t reduce CRA’s ability to enforce tax laws.
“I want to be clear that no compliance or enforcement capacity will be diminished by the measures related to the letters that were issued yesterday,” Bishay wrote in an e-mail to iPolitics Thursday. “In fact, the changes are meant to bolster those efforts.
“As an example, by having our specialized experts in the area of tax crimes located within close proximity of the RCMP and Public Prosecution Services Canada (PPSC), we will see an enhanced and coordinated focus on those who choose to commit such crimes. The announcement will not result in fewer auditors – CRA is simply making better use of the resources it has so that Canada can continue to be a world leader in combatting tax evasion.”
Liberal Senator Percy Downe, who has doggedly questioned the government about bank accounts in offshore tax havens held by Canadians, was sharply critical of the decision to cut investigative and enforcement positions.
“This is good news for every Canadian who is hiding their money overseas and trying to avoid taxes,” he said. “It’s unbelievable that with the information that the government has received about the large number of Canadians that have hidden overseas accounts that they are cutting back the various people who are required to not only track these people down but to collect the money on behalf of all Canadians so that these cheats don’t get away with not paying their fair share.”
Downe said CRA is already slow to follow up on tax evasion investigations, particularly the names it has received of Canadians who have millions of dollars stashed away in offshore tax havens such as Liechtenstein.
“They needed more resources, not less.”
Downe also believes the move could cost Canada’s economy millions in lost revenue due to tax evasion.
While the Canada Revenue Agency was hit hard by Wednesday’s announcements, the department that was hardest hit was Human Resources and Skills Development (HRSD) where 2,127 people were told their positions may be eliminated. The majority of those employees, 1,964, are members of PSAC and an estimated 1,450 of them work for Service Canada which handles everything from employment insurance claims to pensions and passports.
Another 91 are members of PIPSC and 72 are members of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) which represents economists and social science experts.
Aylward says the HRSD cuts will affect services available to Canadians.
“They are called Service Canada for a reason,” said Aylward. “They provide primary frontline service to Canadians and when this government says Canadians won’t feel a thing, we know that is misleading.”
The third hardest hit department was Justice where 674 employees were told their services may no longer be needed. PSAC says 483 of its members at Justice got notices, most of them in areas such as communications, information, library workers and access to information records management workers. Corbett said 145 PIPSC members are affected, largely in information technology.
Corbett said some of the cuts, like 298 of his members at Fisheries and Oceans – many of them biologists – who got notices Friday, appear to be a direct result of the Conservative government’s omnibus budget implementation bill.
“They’re clearing the way for big projects like pipelines.”
Original Article
Source: ipolitics
Author: Elizabeth Thompson
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