Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's a pleasure to be here today to talk about the Auditor General's report 7, which looks at the compliance activities of CRA.
As I mentioned during my appearance yesterday before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, we operate in a very diverse and complex environment. Our agency’s compliance activities can range from performing audits of large multinational corporations to validating T1 returns of individual Canadians. In each instance, however, the CRA works to promote awareness of and ensure compliance with the laws we administer so as to uphold the public's trust and confidence in the tax system, and we endeavour to do so in a fair way.
This environment becomes even more complex when tax schemes cross borders. In fact, a significant compliance challenge for tax authorities around the world has been addressing the effects of base erosion and profit shifting.
Through organizations such as the OECD and the joint international task force on shared intelligence and collaboration, we work closely with international partners on better exchange of information and to share information that helps identify tax cheating. It is within this environment that the agency will address the Auditor General's recommendations.
As you are aware, Mr. Chair, the Auditor General’s fall 2018 report assessed the CRA's consistency regarding the application of compliance measures for various types of taxpayers across Canada. The report also considered how the performance indicators for compliance activities were measured, monitored and reported to Parliament. The Auditor General made recommendations in the areas of consistent treatment, timely processing and performance measures.
The CRA has developed an action plan to address the Auditor General’s concerns.
As the Minister mentioned, the CRA has committed to taking action in all areas identified by the Auditor General, while at the same time recognizing the differences in our compliance issues and challenges across the various taxpayers with whom we interact.
Our detailed action plan, a copy of which has been provided to members of this committee and to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, outlines in greater detail the specific actions being planned and taken. In the interests of time, I will not go through the document point by point but would highlight the CRA's intention to, among other actions, clearly indicate the timelines for audit activities, as well as develop guidelines for seeking court orders to compel sophisticated taxpayers’ co-operation; to establish guidelines for the administration of taxpayer relief provisions; and to develop guidelines to understand the delays attributable to the agency as opposed to those of the taxpayer.
The CRA is putting more emphasis on education and communication with taxpayers to achieve long-term compliance. At the same time, we are determined to identify taxpayers involved in tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance, both domestically and internationally, and to ensure that those who choose not to comply with the law face the appropriate consequences. These efforts support the CRA in building and maintaining confidence in the fairness and integrity of Canada's self-assessment tax system, increase awareness of the agency’s compliance activities and deter tax avoidance and evasion.
Finally, I would note that in the past two years the CRA is aligning its operations and approaches based on previous recommendations of the Auditor General. In fact, the CRA has made measurable progress in its operations in specific areas, based on feedback provided by the Auditor General in the fall 2016 and fall 2017 reports. I believe the agency has demonstrated that it follows through on commitments following the Auditor General's reports, and the same attention will be paid to the recommendations made in report 7 of this report.
I welcome any questions the committee may have.
Thank you.