QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Audit Delays--Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses
October 17, 2022
Government leader, 99.8% of businesses are small- and medium-sized businesses, or SMEs. SMEs drive Canada’s economy by employing 88.3% of Canada’s private labour force and accounting for more than half of the nation’s GDP.
Healthy SMEs are vital in any post-pandemic recovery plan, yet at this critical time, the Canada Revenue Agency is putting undue stress on businesses by taking almost a year on average to complete audits.
What is the government doing to address the delays at the CRA?
I really don’t know specifically what the government may be doing with regard to CRA delays on audits. Thank you for the question, and I will certainly look into it. I won’t take up time to underline and agree with you how important small business is for the economy, not only post-pandemic but 12 months a year, year in, year out.
More than half of Canada’s businesses, 55.3%, have fewer than four employees. Many are family-owned and -operated. While these families struggle to keep their doors open, they are also dealing with rising costs due to inflation and tax increases. Now they must wait for a year on average to have their CRA small business audits completed. This is causing unnecessary stress for owners of small businesses across Canada. If resources are a problem at the agency, what plans does the government have to address this?
So this is a really dire issue, senator.
Thank you. Let me, in answering this question, provide a little bit more clarity on your first question. I apologize that I didn’t do it on the spot.
First of all, the CRA employees are highly experienced professionals, and they are proud of the service they provide to Canadians year-round. The government continues to invest in the improvement of CRA services and the government is looking forward to positive results. I’m assured from the CRA perspective that they are working diligently to put people first and provide high-quality services in a timely fashion.
