Mike Carney announcing automatic tax filing for low income Canadians

Carney announces automatic tax filing for low income Canadian families

Last Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that the federal government will file taxes automatically for low-income Canadians, claiming to make them eligible for government benefits.

The Plan

Carney’s office said that the Canada Revenue Agency will begin automatic tax filing for about 1 million people in 2027 (for the 2026 tax year). That number is expected to reach 5.5 million by 2028.

This will “ensure they receive government benefits they qualify for, such as the GST/HST credit, the Canada child benefit, the Canada Disability Benefit,” his office stated.

The measures will be announced as part of the upcoming federal budget, scheduled to be tabled on Nov. 4.

“Millions of lower income Canadians don’t file their taxes, either because they don’t have the resources to do so, or because they think that their income is too low for it to matter,” Carney said.

“That means, too often, the people who most need benefits often don’t get them.”

Renewed promises

In 2023, Ottawa considered implementing this process and even added it to the federal government’s 2024 fall economic statement document.

The announcement on Friday included the fact that legislation will allow the CRA to automatically file a tax return on behalf of some lower-income Canadians, starting as early as the 2025 tax year.

The budget will also make the National School Food Program permanent to provide meals for up to 400,000 children.

“This program ensures kids are fed healthy meals at school and saves families with two children $800 per year on groceries. By making it permanent, we will work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to expand the program into more schools across Canada,” Carney added.

Canada Strong

The Canada Strong Pass, which offers free or discounted admission to some of the country’s most iconic places, will be brought back for the holidays and summer next year, Carney said. The pass expired on September 2nd this year.

“With the Canada Strong Pass, Canadians can visit national, provincial, and territorial museums, historic sites, parks, and travel by rail for free or at a reduced cost,” Carney said.

CRA ETA?

Long CRA helpline wait times are another source of significant concern for Canadians.

In response, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is to set a 100-day timeline for the CRA to fix call centre delays, despite Ottawa’s plans to cut spend across public services.

The federal union representing CRA workers launched on online campaign criticizing staffing cuts at the agency and the accompanying unrealistic, calling it the “Canada on Hold” campaign.

Marc Brière, national president of the Union of Taxation Employees, says the CRA has cut almost 10,000 jobs since May 2024 and the campaign looks to highlight the impact of cuts on the delivery of services to taxpayers and businesses (Global News).

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