On September 17, 2015, the Quebec ombudsman, Raymonde
Saint-Germain, tabled in the National Assembly her 2014-15 annual
report on the public service. Complaints involving Revenu
Québec featured even more prominently than in past years.
Quebec's finance minister, Carlos Leitão, quickly issued
a press release that was sympathetic to taxpayers and demanded
an action plan from Florent Gagné, the president of Revenu
Québec.
As reported earlier ("Quebec Ombudsman Lambastes Revenu
Québec," Canadian Tax Highlights, October 2014), the
ombudsman's 2013-14 annual report was an indictment of a wide
range of abusive audit, collections, and customer service practices
by Revenu Québec. Most of the problems identified last year
appear not to have been addressed, and the situation has generally
deteriorated. The report says that Revenu Québec's
attitude toward taxpayers has "become more intransigent,"
and the number of substantiated complaints has risen.
