Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to stand and support Bill C-215, an act to appoint a taxation ombudsman and to amend the Income Tax Act to establish certain rights of taxpayers. It is very appropriate to speak on this bill tonight as millions of taxpayers are working diligently to get their taxes in by midnight.
Our hon. colleague from Durham has spent a great deal of time and research on this matter in the interest of ordinary citizens, ordinary taxpayers across this country.
In the past two days we have debated victims rights, gay and lesbian rights, but tonight I want to speak for all people on the issue of taxpayer rights.
I get dozens of letters a week from my constituents who feel they have no rights when it comes to Revenue Canada. These constituents tell me they are helpless to protect their income and assets from Revenue Canada. They tell me they often feel intimidated by the bureaucracy and the collection tactics of Revenue Canada.
Between individual personal tax filers, corporations, importers and exporters, small and medium size business, Revenue Canada serves close to 140 million customers. In 1996-97 Revenue Canada will process 23.1 million income tax returns, 36.6 million child tax benefit payments and 32.4 million GST credit payments. Revenue Canada audited over 70,000 individuals and corporations during 1994-95. With such a tremendous mandate this department needs to be much more accountable to the Canadian taxpayers. Bill C-215 will ensure that accountability.
This bill will enact the taxpayers bill of rights. We presently have a declaration of taxpayers rights but it is one page and eight paragraphs of absolute vagueness. The taxpayers bill of rights in Bill C-215 is in part based on the American example of taxpayers rights from the United States senate in 1988.
The taxpayers bill of rights put forward by the member for Durham will allow Revenue Canada to enter into instalment agreements and restrict the department's right to cancel such agreements.
The bill will provide taxpayers the right of consistency. Major changes to a taxation system may only occur once in every 10 years. Any single change to the taxation system would not affect more than 1 per cent of taxpayers. Cumulative changes for a whole year would not affect more than 3 per cent of total taxpayers. Taxpayers will also have the right to be protected from retroactive legislation.
The taxpayers bill of rights will establish an ombudsman who will act as an intermediary between taxpayers and Revenue Canada in settling accounts and enforcement of the bill. As we heard earlier, perhaps this is a step that cannot be integrated into the bill of rights because of an additional layer of bureaucracy or extra costs.
However, I am the ombudsman for taxpayers in Cumberland-Colchester. I see so many people in my office regarding Revenue Canada issues. I intervene on their behalf, I write letters, I make telephone calls and I go to appeal courts. I am the ombudsman. Is that the role of a member of Parliament? Perhaps it is, but somehow I think there is a better way when we have a department that is as large as Revenue Canada. There should be more accountability in the tax system.
Where it is clear that enforcement of standing orders would result in bankruptcy, the ombudsman would be able to negotiate a settlement based on an assessment of the remaining assets to be paid on an instalment basis. The ombudsman again would be required to prepare an annual report and submit it to both the Senate and the House of Commons.
Many countries have such an ombudsman. The United Kingdom has had one since 1974. The system has been a great success in the U.K. Between 1974 and March 1987 the English commission received more than 30,000 properly referred complaints and the Welsh commission received over 2,500.
I believe this bill is good for the taxpayers of Canada or I would not be standing here speaking on it tonight. Taxpayers have the right to be treated with respect and to know their rights.
It is my hope that all hon. members will give this bill serious consideration and that their full support will come forward not tonight but at another time when we have the opportunity, as the hon. member for Calgary Centre has proposed, for parties through-
out the House to bring together collectively a private member's bill that can be votable and enacted as legislation.
It is imperative for the citizens of Canada. With the tax rate which we have in this country, the bureaucracy administering that tax rate should be held more accountable. We in this House must take swift action to ensure that we give Canadians a bill of rights which provides a sense of respect, fairness, appeal and the many mechanisms which the United States Senate has brought forward in its bill. I believe it could be somewhat reflected and copied in part.