Appeared in the Mid-November 2009 issue of The Bottom
Line.
More times than not, Canadians file their annual tax return and
receive a formal Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue
Agency ("CRA") without dispute. Every year, the CRA
reviews a large number of tax returns, so it is not surprising that
the occasional assessment or reassessment is issued in error or
contains an error. Usually these kinds of errors are the result of
a misunderstanding or a clerical slipup and can easily be remedied
informally over the phone.
Sometimes an assessment or reassessment can initiate a valid
disagreement between the taxpayer and the CRA, whether it arises
from a factual scenario or the correct interpretation of the
federal Income Tax Act (the "ITA"). In these
circumstances, the taxpayer has the right to file a Notice of
Objection under section 165(1) of the ITA, which requires a written
rendition of the facts as well as the reasons for the
objection.
