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One of many greatest threats going through the monetary companies business is the chance of identification theft, which is the unauthorized use of your info by third events who try to gather private details about you, comparable to your identify, date of start, deal with, social insurance coverage quantity and different particulars, for legal functions.

It’s no marvel, then, that the Canada Income Company (CRA) takes the safety of taxpayer info “very severely” and has put in place quite a lot of measures to establish suspicious exercise involving taxpayer accounts.

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I ponder, nonetheless, if the company could have gone a bit overboard in its try and safeguard taxpayers’ confidential info, placing into place such strict guidelines and procedures that forestall its personal workers from having the ability to make educated danger assessments when attempting to resolve taxpayers’ issues.

For example, let me describe my ongoing try to repair a CRA typographical error that, as of the time of writing, has but to be resolved.

My youngest son turned 18 in 2023. He filed his first earnings tax return for 2023 to report withdrawals from his registered training financial savings plan. Regardless of having had a social insurance coverage quantity since shortly after start, he was unable to register for the CRA My Account as a result of, apparently, you might want to file a tax return first earlier than gaining entry.

Consequently, he couldn’t use AutoFill to finish his return, so his tax slips needed to be manually entered into the tax software program. The return was ultimately assessed as filed with no stability owing.

However when a CRA discover of evaluation was obtained and the mandatory steps have been taken to register him for the CRA My Account, the company in some way misspelled his final identify as “Golobek,” which is what seems each on-line and on his printed discover of evaluation. That is odd, contemplating that his identify was appropriately spelled on his social insurance coverage card in addition to on his first T1 tax return, which was ready utilizing licensed tax software program.

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Virtually, it most likely doesn’t matter that his surname is misspelled, however it looks as if one thing that should be corrected sooner or later. This, because it seems, just isn’t a simple job.

As his accountant and approved consultant, I reached out to the CRA on his behalf by telephone final week. I used to be informed the wait time to talk to an agent could be between one and two hours. The excellent news was that slightly than ready on maintain, I might select to obtain a callback when it was my flip, which I elected to do.

Sadly, that decision got here whereas I used to be in a gathering so I couldn’t reply it. I needed to begin once more, so after my assembly, round 3 p.m., I known as the CRA and was knowledgeable that the wait time was roughly two hours. Requested if I needed a callback, I chosen sure, however this time I used to be met with a brand new message saying a callback was not an choice that day, presumably as a result of the two-hour window would stretch previous the 5 p.m. closing time of the CRA name centre. I gave up and determined to strive once more one other day.

On Monday morning, contemporary with new resolve, I known as the CRA again and the recorded message I obtained was that the wait time was “underneath one hour.” I used to be ecstatic. However my pleasure didn’t final very lengthy as I didn’t get the callback choice and I used to be unwilling to stay on maintain whereas listening to music for an hour. I known as again in a while Monday afternoon, and this time I acquired the message that I might obtain a callback in “one to 2 hours.” Excellent.

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Certain sufficient, simply earlier than the two-hour mark, I acquired my callback. The CRA agent was very pleasant, well mannered and understood the problem instantly. He confirmed I used to be the approved consultant on my son’s tax account. He had me confirm my son’s identification by way of his full identify (misspelling and all), deal with, date of start, social insurance coverage quantity and Line 15000 of his return. I used to be then knowledgeable that regardless of verifying all this information, I might have to be transferred to a higher-level agent since I used to be requesting a change of non-public info.

After about 10 minutes, I spoke to a different pleasant agent, who requested for all the identical info above to confirm my son’s identification. However for an additional measure of safety, she needed to know the identify of the issuer of considered one of my son’s T-slips. I had to enter a submitting cupboard, pull out his tax folder and provides her that info.

I used to be then knowledgeable that, sadly, she could be unable to course of this typographical identify change as I solely had “second-level authorization.” To alter his identify, even to appropriate a typographical misspelling error the CRA made, I would wish the next stage of authorization, particularly, I must be my son’s authorized consultant.

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That takes issues to an entire different stage. You see, a authorized consultant is a person (or group) appointed by a authorized doc, comparable to being named guardian, trustee or committee by a court docket, named as the ability of lawyer or named in a illustration settlement. Alas, on condition that my son simply turned 18 and was a authorized grownup, I used to be not one of the above.

The agent then requested if I might get my son on the telephone, which I mentioned I might do. Minutes later, I had joined all three of us on the decision, however by this level, the CRA agent had disconnected herself and transferred the decision to the automated buyer satisfaction survey I had agreed to take after I first known as. Fairly than reply to the survey with my son on the road, I hung up and thought that maybe my suggestions ought to be shared extra extensively.

I’m certain we’ll get this mounted at some point, however within the meantime, in the event you occur to come back throughout an 18-year-old who appears a bit like me, however has the final identify Golobek, you need to know that we’re certainly associated.

Jamie Golombek, FCPA, FCA, CFP, CLU, TEP, is the managing director, Tax & Property Planning with CIBC Personal Wealth in Toronto. Jamie.Golombek@cibc.com.

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