Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee to present the following and to answer any questions you may have on the Canada Revenue Agency’s 2014-15 main estimates.
Mr. Chair, as you are aware, the CRA is responsible for the administration of federal and certain provincial and territorial tax programs, as well as the delivery of a number of benefit payment programs.
Each year, the CRA collects hundreds of billions of dollars of tax revenue for the Government of Canada, and distributes timely and accurate benefit payments to millions of Canadians.
In order to fulfill its mandate, the CRA is seeking the approval of just under $3.9 billion through these 2014-15 main estimates. Of this amount, close to $3 billion requires approval from Parliament, whereas the remaining $900 million represents statutory forecasts that are already approved under separate legislation.
The statutory items include the softwood lumber disbursements to the provinces, children’s special allowance payments, employee benefit plan costs, and the spending of revenues received through the conduct of CRA operations pursuant to section 60 of the CRA Act for administered activities on behalf of the provinces and other government departments.
These 2014-15 main estimates represent a net decrease of $415.6 million, or 9.7%, when compared with the 2013-14 main estimates authorities.
The largest component of this decrease is a $203-million reduction in the projected statutory disbursements to the provinces under the Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act. This decrease is to reflect a revised forecast provided by the Department of Finance, which is based on changing prices and volumes in the Canada-United States lumber market.
Other decreases to the agency’s budget include savings of $119 million as a result of the budget 2012 spending review. Most of these savings can be categorized under two broad categories, namely, making it easier for Canadians and businesses to deal with their government, particularly through the provision of faster, more efficient online services, and modernizing and reducing the agency's back office.
There's a reduction of $57.6 million as a result of savings identified as part of the budget 2013 targeted review of CRA's headquarters operations. These savings do not affect services to Canadians and will be achieved by streamlining our internal services, optimizing our IT resources, and improving our organizational alignment.
A $19.7-million adjustment in the transfer from Public Works and Government Services Canada to the CRA, reflecting a decrease in accommodation and real property services.
There's a transfer of $18.7 million to Shared Services Canada, representing the transfer of responsibility for the procurement of end-user software as well as an adjustment to the base funding previously transferred to Shared Services Canada when it was first created.
These decreases are partially offset by new funding approved in a number of areas. This includes $22.3 million to fund salary increases attributable to collective agreements that came into effect in 2011 prior to the recently announced operating budget freeze for 2014-15 and 2015-16.
An additional $17 million in 2014-15 as part of the multi-year upgrade of CRA's personal income tax processing system. These upgrades will leave the CRA in a better position to address increased numbers of tax filers, respond to new tax policy measures, and implement new partnership agreements with provinces, territories and other government departments and agencies.
Finally, there's an increase of $5.4 million for the implementation and administration of various measures affecting individuals, businesses, and charities, announced as part of budget 2012, including the one-year extension of the hiring credit for small businesses, enhancing transparency and accountability for charities, and the introduction of pooled registered pension plans.
In closing, Mr. Chair, the resources sought through these estimates will allow the agency to continue to provide quality services to Canadians by ensuring that taxpayers meet their obligations, Canada’s revenue base is protected, and eligible families and individuals receive timely and correct benefit payments.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
At this time, my colleagues and I will be pleased to respond to any questions you or the committee members may have on the CRA's 2014-15 main estimates.
