Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House and make a few comments on this bill to establish the customs and revenue agency.
This legislation creates a national revenue collecting agency, the Canada customs and revenue agency, to replace Revenue Canada. The CCRA transforms Revenue Canada into a quasi-independent tax agency to take over the collection of personal and corporate income tax, provincial sales tax, the goods and services tax, customs duties and excise taxes on gasoline and alcohol levies.
Some provincial finance ministers have shown interest in this single tax collecting agency but they have not committed to participating. Certain provinces are asking for greater flexibility in this tax policy which is an issue not directly related to the Canada customs and revenue agency. Sometimes caution is one of the better ways to go with an agency of this magnitude.
A possible condition for Reform support would be a strong taxpayer bill of rights. Any taxpayer bill of rights would include a very clear statement on the accountability of the agency and a reinforcement of ministerial responsibility through an independent ombudsman and an office for taxpayer protection. Having an independent ombudsman would be the direction to go on this issue.
The government claims the agency should save the taxpayer some administration costs. The projected estimates of savings run between $97 million and $162 million. That is quite a savings provided that the projected efficiencies are built in.
The agency would facilitate integration of tax information and reporting systems thereby improving the prospect of single window reporting and reducing the paper burden on small and medium size businesses. This is something businesses and farmers have been asking for for years. They have been asking for a simpler tax form and a simpler way of computing tax so they can better understand the regulations and how taxes are computed.
The way the agency will be set up kind of throws up a red flag. It will have a board comprised of 15 directors. The chair and two directors will be selected by the federal government. This is similar to the set up of the Canadian Wheat Board for the time being. The other 11 directors would also be appointed by governor in council with input from the provinces which is a good idea. I could support that as long as these positions did not become more or less political plums. So often that is the case.
One very good example is the Manitoba Freshwater Fish Marketing Board. We have seen the appointment of a chairman being so political that in the end the friction which developed in the board resulted in the chairman having to resign from his position. This is something we want to prevent in these types of government quasi-judicial at a distance organizations.
Revenue Canada clients are looking for more streamlined services, improved response times and the reduction in the paper burden associated with compliance for tax, trade and customs transactions. They want faster service that is easier to access and which is more responsive to their needs.
What taxpayers and people who deal with this organization want most is accountability and a fair system which a lot of taxpayers feel is not there. The conditions attached to the revenue collected in payroll taxes and GST seem to indicate that people are not treated equally and fairly.
An independent ombudsman is a must. We certainly do not want to create an agency that appears to be similar in power to the IRS in the United States. That has created a lot of problems by false or improper taxation. It has also led to people serving jail sentences that should never have been imposed.
Why am I worried about this organization being accountable and responding to the taxpayer as well as to government? I have a couple of examples of what I have run into during the last year or two as a member of parliament.
A year ago I was informed that a businessmen in a neighbouring town had a severe problem. A day or two before Christmas his and his wife's accounts had been frozen due to what Revenue Canada felt were irregularities. Imagine what kind of stress this put on the businessman during a period of celebration when people are happy and family come home to spend a joyful Christmas.
The businessman contacted me after Christmas to explain what had happened. I was astounded that a person could be put into this type of position. He had contracted to build a place of business, a manufacturing plant. The people who signed the contract with him had not fulfilled their commitment. They had cancelled some of the building project. He was stuck with a contract where he owed payroll taxes and GST, but he had never completed the project.
He had submitted $14,000 to an account so that Revenue Canada could re-evaluate the payroll taxes and other benefits it felt were delinquent. When this became known, Revenue Canada quickly backtracked on the type of service the taxpayer had received and the account was settled under very reasonable conditions. But the stress and fear in this businessman were unbelievable. The personal tragedy of it was that he spent a Christmas worrying about what would happen to his business, not what other business people were encountering.
The other thing I point out is the Dave Sawatzky case where revenue and customs laid charges against him and fined him. He appealed and won that case. The government appealed it and lost but revenue and customs are still prosecuting other farmers under the same conditions.
This is not the democracy Canadians expect from the government. This is the type of democracy we hear about in third world countries where the government is the sole authority and does as it pleases. This is why people in Canada are very hesitant to give an agency the power that the Canada customs and revenue agency will receive under this bill.
We as members of the House must be vigilant and look at it seriously, amend it where possible to make safeguards available to the taxpayers and put trust back into the customs and revenue organization.