Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson

Did you know that if you have complaints against the CRA and you think you have been wronged or treated unfairly by any of its representatives, you can turn to the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) to look into the issue(s) you may have.

They operate independently from the CRA and their role is to oversee that the Taxpayer Bill of Rights is being respected every step of the way in the taxpayers’ dealings with the CRA.

In particular, there are eight rights in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights that the OTO upholds, as follows:

1. You have the right to be treated professionally, courteously, and fairly.

2. You have the right to complete, accurate, clear, and timely information.

3. You have the right to lodge a service complaint and to be provided with an explanation of [the CRA's] findings

4. You have the right to have the costs of compliance taken into account when administering tax legislation.

5. You have the right to expect [the CRA] to be accountable.

6. You have the right to expect [the CRA] to publish [its] service standards and report annually.

7. You have the right to expect [the CRA] to warn you about questionable tax schemes in a timely manner.

8. You have the right to be represented by a person of your choice.