REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE

Thursday, April 10, 2014

      The Standing Senate Committee on National Finance has the honour to present its

EIGHTH REPORT

      Your committee, to which was referred Bill C-462, An Act restricting the fees charged by promoters of the disability tax credit and making consequential amendments to the Tax Court of Canada Act, has, in obedience to its order of reference of March 6, 2014, examined the said Bill and now reports the same without amendment.

      Your committee has also made certain observations, which are appended to this report.

      Respectfully submitted,

JOSEPH A. DAY

Chair

OBSERVATIONS to the Eighth Report

of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance

(Bill C-462)

While the Committee is reporting Bill C-462 without amendment, it wishes to observe that – after several meetings with various stakeholders – issues were raised that should be addressed in the regulatory consultation period following the Bill’s passage.

The Committee recommends that during the regulatory consultation period the following issues be considered:

• Review of the Disability Tax Credit form to simplify it and to consider its online availability;
• Clarify the word  "promoter"  to more accurately reflect the different groups that fill out the Disability Tax Credit form, for example: health care practitioners, accountants, consultants, etc.;
• Review the service level and the promotion of the Credit by the Canada Revenue Agency to increase awareness and reduce the difficulty of applying for the Credit;
• Discuss with industry the potential of developing a code of practice to improve the level of service and set standards for certain items, such as advertising.
• Ensure that the interpretation of Section 3(2) of the Bill is that the promoter repays the overcharged fee (C) to the claimant.