Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Pardon me, but I have to point out the Conservatives' hypocrisy on this issue. I would note that the audit covered the period from April 1st, 2013 to March 31, 2018. They're very angry about the report's findings, but they governed for three of the six years in the audit period. I'm somewhat surprised to see the Conservatives' reaction to the report.
I'm going to go back to the substantive issues and ask a question concerning paragraph 7.39, which is probably the one that startled me the most. It concerns relief offered to taxpayers. Paragraph 7.38 states that individuals like you and I who complete a T4 are offered little or no relief. In fact, they aren't treated in the same way as small and medium-sized enterprises, the international sector, large businesses or taxpayers who conduct offshore transactions, who are offered relief, as stated in paragraph 7.39: "In those cases, the Agency required its auditors to consider offering relief without taxpayer requests." I emphasize the word "required". That's the paragraph that startled me most, Mr. Chair.
So the agency proactively offers relief to taxpayers who might be in default, or at least who are being audited by the agency, when they haven't even requested it. A taxpayer might want to defend himself and reject that relief, saying that he's done everything correctly and doesn't need his notice of assessment amended.
How can you explain why the agency offers relief without taxpayers even requesting it? Would that be related to the KPMG case, by any chance? Did the agency do the same thing in the KPMG case? Some of the people listening to us will remember that case. Taxpayers were caught in a dubious tax arrangement, and the agency sent them a letter stating that, if they acknowledged the facts, it would grant them relief and, after fees were paid, close the case.
Is it still common practice for the Canada Revenue Agency to grant relief to persons who don't even request it?