Mr. Speaker, I am going to read the summary of the bill because it is important to put the debate in context. It says:
This enactment restricts the amount of fees that can be charged or accepted by persons who, on behalf of a person with a disability, request a determination of disability tax credit eligibility under the Income Tax Act. It establishes a prohibition against charging or accepting more than an established maximum fee and establishes offences and penalties for failure to comply.
Based on that, I do not see how anyone can be opposed. I am comfortable with it and I will support sending the bill to committee. The Liberal Party has always supported cracking down on fraudulent consultants who take advantage of disabled Canadians or any type of Canadians, but especially disabled Canadians. However, we think Bill C-462 requires careful study at committee to ensure that it achieves the stated objectives and avoids unintended consequences.
We support the idea of a ceiling on costs to help protect those eligible to apply for the tax credit for persons with disabilities, but the maximum for such costs should be determined through an open and transparent process of consultation with those concerned, such as organizations for persons with disabilities and members of the medical community. The question is a complex and, above all, an important one. We should therefore adopt a rigorous approach to ensure that Canadians with disabilities receive as much help as possible from Canada.
We are also supporting Bill C-462 at second reading, in order to have it referred to committee for study to ensure that there are no unforeseen consequences, such as a reduction in eligibility for the tax credit for persons with disabilities. We also hope that the government will show good faith, listen to opposition members and make the required amendments to the bill, if necessary, in accordance with what we learn in committee. The only way of avoiding unfortunate consequences for those with disabilities will be to do a thorough job in committee. I trust the Conservatives will be able to set aside partisanship for such an important issue.
Despite the good intentions in the bill, I believe that the government could be more helpful to Canadians with disabilities by simplifying the application process through which they receive their tax credit. For example, the documents to be completed and the process itself are complicated—doctors have many responsibilities in this area— which means that many Canadians are not able to complete them without assistance.
If everything was simplified, many Canadians with disabilities could complete the forms themselves, which would avoid their having to rely on someone else to help them do so. Reducing the red tape and the processing time in this manner could also generate savings for the government. It would therefore be useful both for the government and for persons with disabilities to look into this aspect at the committee stage.
The Liberal Party also supports the idea that fraudulent consultants should be prosecuted to the letter of the law.
I just want to quickly highlight some of the concerns I found in looking at the bill. In the bill it states that the definition of a promoter is “a person who, directly or indirectly, accepts or charges a fee in respect of a disability tax credit request”. Would that mean a doctor or an accountant? I asked the question to the sponsor of the bill, and she seems to think it would not be, but that is not how the bill reads. I just want to make sure the bill will be corrected so that doctors, accountants or other professionals would not be included as being promoters.
I was looking at the requirement to fill out the disability form. Seven out of the eight pages of the form to request or to determine if one is eligible to claim the disability tax credit must be completed by a qualified practitioner, which means a medical doctor, physiotherapist, optometrist, psychologist, occupational therapist, special language therapist or audiologist. I do not think any of these should be considered promoters.
Again, are the doctors consultants or are they promoters? Should doctors not charge for their time, as some doctors do, or is it part of the medical services they provide through the health care system? I think this is one of the questions that should be asked at committee. I understand there are going to be some medical professionals, associations and representatives at committee, and that would be one my questions.
In my former life as an accountant, I found that the forms are more lengthy than complex. Usually doctors feel responsible for any inaccuracies on these forms and so they take a little more time. As I mentioned before, maybe we should just consider changing the way the disability credit is administered, instead of introducing more regulations and making the forms more complex. Perhaps we could have a simple one-pager and have a doctor's letter attached. This would be something the committee could study, to find a way to make it easier and perhaps less cumbersome to administer.
In my experience as an accountant, especially when the government introduced retroactively requesting a change as far back as ten years to the income tax form for a disability tax credit, the first year is normally the most complex time. Even though one may be using software, one has to determine which credits and deductions a client is eligible for and which are more advantageous. If one is claiming the disability tax credit, one may not be eligible for some other credits. As well, one's dependents would be a consideration. It is complex and one wants to make sure that the professional involved in preparing the tax return or giving advice is not being penalized because he or she has said to go and get the disability tax credit certificate.
The other problem I found as a professional accountant was not filling out the form but having the form filled out on a timely basis. Normally the form is given to the client or to the person who is representing a handicapped person eligible for the disability tax credit. The form is given to the doctor, who may not have time and puts it on his or her desk, and it takes forever to get it back. The tax return is either already filed or waiting for the form before being filed. Also, a lot of times the tax return is filed, but the revenue department may come back asking for more information. Therefore, it is a time issue more than a complex issue. This may be another area that needs to be addressed in committee.
When the committee addresses the promoter fees, who should be paid for their time and how would that be calculated? I saw that there was a formula, which is a little complex, in the private member's bill. However, a professional, and I will use the example of an accountant, would not necessarily charge based on a percentage because he or she is not allowed to do so. How do we avoid an accountant charging based on the fact that a person would get a $20,000 or $30,000 refund if he or she is eligible to go back and amend their tax returns for the last 10 or 15 years?
Personally, I agree with the bill. I do not believe that promoters should be taking advantage of the disabled. I do not believe that promoters should be paid at all, but I guess there has to be a way to promote this initiative. The government spends enough money on advertising, I do not see why we also have to pay promoters. I am totally against this and I am hoping other members will also be against this in committee. However, I am totally shocked that the Conservative government is introducing more regulations.
There is another reason that disability tax credits are very important. People may be eligible for the disability tax credit, but they may not get money back on their tax return. However, they can open up a disability savings account. That is very important and works for a lot of people in my constituency.
Again, I am in favour of the bill, but as I said before, the Liberal Party is not necessarily in favour of these tax credits. We prefer having these tax credits refundable so that the people who actually need the money, get the money.