Finance committee  As for the other part of the question, I'm not aware of any issue now resulting from the reduction of the GST rate.

Finance committee  I think essentially Public Works and Government Services is much better placed than the agency to manage real property, so we outsource to them.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, I am vaguely aware of what the member is raising. So I can't really answer the question, but we can come back to that. Generally speaking, we are very aggressive with everything related to the underground economy. That is what Parliament has been repeatedly asking us

Finance committee  Not really. The savings are in the order of about $2 per return. But it has allowed us to offer a much wider range of services and it has allowed us to prepare for the future as well. So in that sense, it has been a fantastic investment for the agency, and the taxpayers can recei

Finance committee  Approximately.

Finance committee  Yes, we do. We have accepted that there is a very thick wall around that team that works with the Department of Finance in preparation for a budget, to make sure that measures that are announced are actually doable and implementable. But there are very few people in the agency wh

Finance committee  Competitive what?

Finance committee  I assume, Mr. Chair, you're referring to the taxation of gains from professional sports. With respect, Mr. Chairman, I think Parliament has asked us to tax those.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, I don't have the answer with me, and my colleague doesn't either, so I will undertake to get back to you, if that's all right.

Finance committee  I just want to remind the committee that the minister said the agency would make best efforts. It's important that the committee realize that the CRA is an organization that has 44,000 employees in 55 locations across the country. Every day, there are jobs that are eliminated and

Finance committee  The only thing I would add is that all the Service Canada offices can offer basic information to taxpayers on a drop-in basis, and there are quite a number of new offices, new points of service, that have opened.

Finance committee  We could give the member a more technical answer by asking colleagues, but one thing I want to make sure the committee understands is that we do have an appeal process. It's a process that has been going on for quite a number of years. You can appeal online; you can appeal direct

Finance committee  That is a very relevant question, which the minister addressed to some degree in her testimony. We have an appeal section. Any questions pertaining to the payment of taxes goes through this independent appeal system before it goes to the courts. But the minister is in the process

Finance committee  I don't think so. There are legislative options and non-legislative options.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, it's difficult for me, not having all the facts, but I would encourage the member to submit the facts to me. I'll make sure that it goes to the appropriate place in the agency to search for a solution in that particular case.