Revenue Canada mistakes created tax mess for dying woman 

By Terry Davidson

TORONTO - Donna Britton’s dying wish was to not leave her family with the burden of posthumous loose ends. But thanks to a Revenue Canada mixup, her son has been left to untangle a $14,564.69 tax mess.Britton, who died of cancer on Monday at age 69, was wrongly sent a refund cheque for $13,511.61 in September 2009 as part of a previous tax return – a mistake her son, Jason, says was based on an accounting mix-up between his mother’s employer at the time and the Canada Revenue Agency.
Now, 27 months later – after Britton had tried to both give the cheque back and made numerous calls to the CRA, only to be shuffled from department to department with no result – the taxman, having caught the error, now wants its money back – but with an extra $1,508.83 in accumulated interest.
Jason paid the original amount on Monday to stop further interest from gathering on the bulk of the money, but will leave the interest as outstanding while he consults a lawyer.
Back in 2009, after failing to convince the CRA to take the refund cheque back, Britton deposited the money in a separate bank account so as not to spend any of it.
“She knew they’d figure it out and come back for it,” said Jason on Tuesday, who has tried numerous times to talk to the CRA about it. “They’re stonewalling me. They said, ‘Submit something in writing, and in six months to a year, we’ll get back to you’...“There should be some approachability, some humanity.”
Meanwhile, he said, interest would continue to build on any amount owing.
The married father of two even recently contacted Newmarket-Aurora MP Lois Brown, only to be told by a Brown staffer via email that “monies have to be paid back to the CRA,” and to consider applying for “taxpayer relief.”
In a sadly ironic twist, it was the very day Britton was diagnosed with terminal cancer – August 24 – that she received the notice from the taxman of the amount owing.
While errors happen at the CRA like they do in every other organization, the taxman needs to be more corporative and approachable, says tax lawyer Paul DioGuardi.
“They are bureaucrats, they live in their own world,” said DioGuardi. “I’ve seen quite a few errors...Usually, the CRA are pretty good, but you run into someone who doesn’t do their job...It was the CRA’s fault this happened, not (Britton’s).”
But DioGuardi agreed with Brown’s office, saying that applying for taxpayer relief would be a good strategy in this case.
Jason needs to organize the paper trail showing his mother tried to give the cheque back to the CRA and tried calling when that didn’t work, DioGuardi said. He should also point out both his mother’s illness, her death and the delay it took the CRA to catch the error.