Helping Small Businesses by Reducing the Compliance Burden

Report of the Canada Revenue Agency's
Action Task Force on Small Business Issues
March 2007

Table of Contents

• Foreword by the Minister of National Revenue
• Highlights
• The Action Task Force on Small Business Issues
• Our Areas of Focus
  1. We will simplify, improve, and, where appropriate, reduce the frequency of small business interactions with the CRA.
  2. We will improve how and when we communicate with small businesses.
  3. We will make burden reduction systemic within the CRA.
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: Measuring the Small Business Compliance Burden
• Appendix B: Members of the Action Task Force on Small Business Issues

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Foreword by the Minister of National Revenue

Small business owners are faced with a multitude of regulations that govern their day-to-day operations. These regulations serve a variety of functions from protecting the safety of Canadians to ensuring fair business practices. Regulations are also needed to maintain the fairness and integrity of our taxation system. The revenue generated as a result of these regulations makes it possible to implement social and economic policies that benefit all Canadians. Small business owners recognize that. However, there is growing concern in Canada and internationally that the cumulative burden of the regulations imposed on businesses by all levels of government is becoming counterproductive. There are too many regulations, they are too complicated, and they are too prone to change. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable, since the cost of complying with regulatory obligations is proportionately higher for small businesses than for their larger counterparts.

As Minister of National Revenue, I created the Action Task Force on Small Business Issues to ensure that the administrative policies and practices of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) impose the least burden possible on small businesses, while providing the CRA with the information it needs to confirm compliance with tax-related regulations and to identify and effectively address instances of non-compliance. I encouraged the members of the Action Task Force to consider all aspects of the CRA's interactions with small business and asked them to recommend concrete solutions that would provide the greatest relief to the majority of small business owners. I fully endorse the recommendations of the Action Task Force and I am personally committed to implementing them.

In implementing this Action Plan, and in our on-going pursuit of burden reduction, I believe we must be accountable to Canadians. As a result, we will report on our progress in reducing the compliance and paperwork burden in the CRA's annual report to Parliament. This Action Plan includes the development of a performance measurement framework that will allow us to monitor our results. As with any new endeavour, we may need to revise some of the performance indicators identified as we gain experience. The goal, above all, is to ensure that the measures used are appropriate and meaningful to Canadians.

I would like to thank the members of the Action Task Force on Small Business Issues for contributing their time, effort and knowledge to the important issue of burden reduction. I look forward to celebrating our accomplishments with you in the months and years to come.

The Honourable Carol Skelton, P.C., M.P.
Minister of National Revenue

Highlights

The Canada Revenue Agency's Action Task Force on Small Business Issues was created at the request of the Minister of National Revenue. Its mandate was to identify which of the CRA's administrative practices imposed the greatest burden on small businesses, develop solutions to reduce the burden, and introduce a systemic approach to burden reduction across the CRA. This report contains the recommendations of the Action Task Force and has been endorsed by the Minister of National Revenue.

To reduce the compliance burden on small businesses, the CRA will focus its efforts in three key areas.

1. Simplify, improve and, where appropriate, reduce the frequency of small business interactions with the CRA.
2. Improve how and when the CRA communicates with small businesses.
3. Make burden reduction systemic within the CRA.

This report identifies over 50 initiatives that the CRA will undertake in support of these areas of focus. For example, the CRA will:

• Administer new legislation announced in the 2007 Federal Budget that will reduce the filing and remitting requirements imposed on qualifying small businesses
• Assume responsibility for administering corporate taxes on behalf of the government of Ontario
• Enable debit Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) returns to be filed electronically
• Introduce a simplified claim form for the Scientific Research and Experimental Development program
• Continue to expand the functionality of My Business Account, a service for business on-line transactions
• Partner with key small business and professional advisor associations to identify sources of burden and work with them to leverage our communication and outreach activities
• Establish an inventory of our administrative requirements and information obligations with which small businesses must comply in light of the federal government's target of reducing the paperwork burden by 20 per cent by November 2008
• Report on our progress in reducing the compliance burden in our annual report to Parliament

The CRA is committed to implementing all of the initiatives identified in this report and sustaining the focus on burden reduction in the years to come in a manner consistent with its overall accountability for tax compliance, revenue collection and taxation data collection.

The Action Task Force on Small Business Issues

In August 2006, the Action Task Force on Small Business Issues was created at the request of Carol Skelton, Minister of National Revenue. Its mandate was to:

• identify which of the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) administrative practices imposed the greatest burden on small businesses;
• develop solutions to reduce the burden; and
• introduce a systematic and institutionalized approach to burden reduction.

The Action Task Force was a joint public/private sector task force composed of senior CRA officials, small business owners, representatives from Industry Canada, and representatives from a number of key organizations, such as:

• the Canadian Federation of Independent Business
• the Canadian Payroll Association
• the Canadian Chamber of Commerce
• the Joint Committee on Taxation of The Canadian Bar Association and The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
• CCH Canadian Limited
• the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada
• l'Association de planification fiscale et financière, and
• the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

The Action Task Force members identified the main sources of compliance burden from a variety of sources including survey results, and presentations from both private and public sector officials. The members received presentations from key CRA program managers, inter-government stakeholders such as the Department of Finance, Service Canada, Industry Canada and the Advisory Committee on Paperwork Burden Reduction and from private sector small business representatives.

Of particular interest were the results of the Statistics Canada, Survey of Regulatory Compliance Costs, which examined the cost to small and medium-size businesses of complying with 12 information obligations. The results indicate that the employment and tax-related information obligations imposed by various levels of government make up approximately 90% of the submissions required of small and medium-size businesses, for those information obligations covered in the survey. The CRA is responsible for administering some of the most frequent of these interactions, such as payroll remittances, and most complex, such as filing individual or corporation income tax returns. A survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) led to similar findings. In the CFIB survey, businesses identified the GST/HST, payroll taxes and income taxes as the most burdensome. These survey results point to key sources of burden for small businesses and reveal a significant opportunity for the CRA to work with its inter-government and private sector stakeholders to reduce that burden by implementing the initiatives described in this report.

Our Areas of Focus

In Budget 2007, the federal government made a commitment to reducing the compliance and paperwork burden on small businesses by 20 per cent and announced measures that will reduce the frequency of certain remitting and filing requirements for qualifying small businesses. The CRA's Corporate Business Plan 2007-2008 to 2009-2010 mirrors these goals. In this report, the members of the Action Task Force on Small Business Issues have identified concrete actions to be undertaken by the CRA to tangibly reduce the compliance burden on small businesses and support the achievement of the federal government's burden reduction targets. These initiatives will focus on three specific areas. The CRA will:

1. Simplify, improve, and, where appropriate, reduce the frequency of small business interactions with the CRA.
2. Improve how and when we communicate with small businesses.
3. Make burden reduction systemic within the CRA.

Focus 1: We will simplify, improve, and, where appropriate, reduce the frequency of small business interactions with the CRA.

1.1 Actions taken or underway

1.1.1 The CRA is currently developing a simplified claim form for the Scientific Research and Experimental Development program, as well as a self-assessment tool to help claimants determine potential eligibility for this program.

1.1.2 In September 2006, the CRA introduced a new on-line service called My Business Account to provide business owners with faster, more accessible, and more transparent government service. Through My Business Account, business owners can request a Canada Pension Plan/Employment Insurance ruling, register a formal dispute (objection), file a corporation income tax return, make certain on-line requests, and view account balances for corporation tax, excise duties and taxes, among other features. The CRA will continue refining and expanding the functionality of this service.

1.1.3 The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario recently signed an agreement to have the CRA administer corporation taxes on behalf of that province. The Corporate Tax Administration for Ontario (CTAO) initiative is expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of businesses throughout the province of Ontario. This initiative will be developed and implemented over several years.

1.1.4 The CRA will continue to coordinate its compliance activities and expand its risk management practices to minimize the disruption on small business taxpayers. For example, plans to introduce integrated enforcement teams and increase the coordination of federal and provincial audits under the Corporate Tax Administration for Ontario (CTAO) are well underway. Also, the CRA recently expanded its combined audit program, which reduces the inconvenience, and costs to small businesses by having a single auditor review the same records for both income tax and GST/HST purposes. We will build on these initiatives and others as part of our program process, giving due consideration to the needs of small businesses.

1.1.5 The CRA will continue to work with the Department of Finance and our provincial and territorial partners to expand the adoption of the Business Number (BN) as a national business identifier. To date, the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, and Manitoba have adopted the BN for their provincial programs.

1.1.6 The CRA works closely with our provincial and territorial counterparts to identify ways to reduce the burden on small businesses. For example, the Ontario Ministry of Finance has adopted the practice of accepting the CRA's Canada Pension Plan/Employment Insurance rulings on the employee/employer relationship for purposes of administering their Health Tax. As a result, businesses avoid unnecessary work and the conflict of differing opinions at two levels of government.

1.1.7 The CRA actively participates in initiatives to reduce the paperwork burden at both the federal government and CRA levels. For example, the CRA is an active member of Industry Canada's joint public/private sector Advisory Committee on Paperwork Burden Reduction.

1.1.8 The CRA will continue to work with Service Canada to identify ways of reducing the number of Pensionable Insurable Earnings Review (PIER) reports generated to employers.

1.1.9 In August 2006, the CRA created the Action Task Force on Small Business Issues. Its members examined a variety of sources such as survey results, and presentations from both private and public sector officials to identify which of the CRA's administrative practices impose the greatest burden on small businesses. The results of the Statistics Canada Survey of Regulatory Compliance Costs were of particular significance. The members identified specific initiatives to be undertaken by the CRA to reduce this burden, which are contained in this report.

1.2 Actions planned for 2007-2008

1.2.1 In 2007, new federal legislation was introduced to increase the lifetime capital gains exemption for farmers, fishermen and-women, and small businesses from $500,000 to $750,000.

1.2.2 New legislation will allow qualifying small businesses to remit their income tax instalment payments quarterly instead of monthly. This measure will apply in respect of corporate taxation years starting after 2007.

1.2.3 The corporate income tax payable threshold, at or below which corporations are eligible to remit annually, will be increased to $3,000 from $1,000. This measure will apply in respect of corporate taxation years starting after 2007.

1.2.4 The net personal income tax threshold, at or below which individuals do not have to pay instalments, will be increased to $3,000 from $2,000. This change will apply to the 2008 and subsequent taxation years.

1.2.5 Eligible businesses whose average monthly withholdings are less than $3,000 may remit source deductions quarterly instead of monthly. Currently, only eligible businesses whose average monthly withholdings are less than $1,000 may remit source deductions quarterly. These changes will apply to calendar years beginning with 2008.

1.2.6 Qualifying businesses whose net tax is less than $3,000 will be able to remit the GST/HST annually, instead of quarterly. Currently, only qualifying businesses whose annual net tax is less than $1,500 can remit the GST/HST annually. This measure will apply in respect of GST/HST registrant's fiscal years beginning after 2007.

1.2.7 Businesses with taxable supplies not exceeding $1.5 million may elect to have GST/HST reporting periods that are fiscal years, instead of fiscal quarters. Currently, only businesses with annual taxable supplies not exceeding $500,000 are eligible to have reporting periods that are fiscal years and thereby to file an annual GST/HST return. This measure will apply in respect of GST/HST registrant's fiscal years beginning after 2007.

1.2.8 The CRA will continue to work with the Department of Finance and small business stakeholders to identify simplification options that could reduce the compliance burden on small business taxpayers. This could include initiatives to simplify the tax provisions relating to automobile expenses and taxable benefits.

1.2.9 Based on feedback from small businesses and their representatives, the CRA will conduct periodic reviews of our administrative thresholds to ensure that these thresholds remain effective and appropriate.

1.2.10 The use of the Business Number will be expanded in 2007, when the province of Ontario adopts the Business Number for its Retail Sales Tax program.

1.2.11 In February 2008, harmonized corporate instalment payments will begin under the Corporate Tax Administration for Ontario (CTAO) initiative.

1.2.12 In 2007-2008, the CRA will enhance My Business Account to enable representatives to view and/or transact on behalf of a business, with owner consent. Additional services will also be available such as filing a GST/HST return, downloading previously issued statements and notices, and viewing account balance transactions.

1.2.13 In October 2007, the electronic filing of GST/HST returns will be enhanced to allow debit GST/HST returns to be filed electronically.

1.2.14 The CRA will continue to work with the Department of Finance to assess the results under graduated penalties with respect to late payroll remittances, and determine if changes are warranted.

1.2.15 The CRA will review the guidelines for providing relief from penalty or interest charged on late payroll remittances under the Fairness Provisions of the Income Tax Act, and will update these guidelines, if warranted. In spring 2007, the term "Fairness Provisions" will be replaced by "Taxpayer Relief Provisions".

1.3 Actions planned for April 2008 and beyond

1.3.1 In fall 2008, the CRA will introduce a simplified claim form for the Scientific Research and Experimental Development program, as well as a self-assessment tool to assist claimants in determining potential eligibility for this program.

1.3.2 In January 2009, a harmonized corporation return will be introduced as part of the Corporate Tax Administration for Ontario (CTAO) initiative.

When fully implemented, CTAO will result in a number of benefits for small businesses such as one annual return based on the same filing and payment requirements, a common definition of taxable income, blended payments, one point of contact for both provincial and federal tax information, one audit covering both federal and provincial tax with one set of audit findings, and a single objections and appeals process.

1.3.3 Longer-term enhancements to My Business Account include allowing users to update the operating name of their business and business address, transfer payments from one period to another, as well as from one business program account to another, and view their employer remitter type, which affects the frequency of their payroll remittances.

1.3.4 The CRA will work with our provincial partners to increase the coordination and harmonization of federal and provincial business programs.

Focus 2: We will improve how and when we communicate with small businesses.

2.1 Actions taken or underway

2.1.1 It is already a standard procedure to use plain language in CRA forms and publications, and so is soliciting feedback from users through sources such as, Your Opinion Counts, focus testing, and our Web comments mailbox. We continually work to achieve the correct balance between the use of plain language and the timely delivery of accurate legislative information. We will continue to monitor all feedback and strengthen existing processes. The CRA has employer representatives such as the Canadian Payroll Association enhance its communications by reviewing its brochures, publications and Web site on a regular basis to enhance their readability.

2.1.2 The CRA will continue to review the most common errors made by small business taxpayers on their forms and returns to identify opportunities for improving content and layout.

2.1.3 The CRA reviews our Web links and printed publications to improve the bundling of information, and to provide on-line links between relevant Web content for users.

2.1.4 The CRA recently revised the information we provide about the capital gains deduction to make it clearer, and we restructured this information to make it more accessible.

2.1.5 The CRA has improved the timeliness and accessibility of our information through the introduction of “Smartlinks.” This technology allows Web users to access a CRA agent directly from our Web site. The agent can then help them navigate through the site or provide them with additional information.

2.1.6 The CRA has recently standardized and enhanced its training program for our telephone agents. This new program is supported by enhanced online training and improved reference tools. The content of the program has been tailored to address the most frequently asked questions, as well as complex topics, and is designed to ensure that responses to telephone enquiries are accurate and consistent.

2.1.7 The CRA recently developed the CRA Electronic Services for Businesses and Individuals CD-ROM. This tool is designed to increase awareness of the CRA's electronic services for small business and to familiarize new small business taxpayers with the CRA's Web site. It has been distributed to participants at CRA small business outreach events. It will ultimately be expanded to include content from provincial and territorial governments.

2.1.8 CRA employees with the highest levels of interaction with small business taxpayers participated in information sessions designed to increase their awareness of the electronic products and services the CRA offers small businesses. A more formalized program is being developed.

2.1.9 The CRA recognizes the benefits of presenting information in a variety of formats and continues to explore new ways of doing so. We recently developed a series of questions and answers to communicate legislative changes related to the apprenticeship job creation tax credit and the deductibility of tradespersons' tools. These were provided to CRA agents and posted to the CRA Web site.

2.1.10 Public information seminars are one of the CRA's most effective tools for communicating with small businesses, and many of our outreach activities are conducted in collaboration with our provincial partners. In 2005-2006, the CRA delivered over 1,400 business-related seminars nationwide to 26,500 participants. In Ontario, over 200 joint PST and GST/HST seminars were delivered to 4,300 participants.

We will continue to update our seminars to ensure that the information we provide remains relevant and timely. For example, we will be piloting an updated Small Business Information Seminar presentation in spring 2007.

2.1.11 In 2006 and 2007, the CRA launched an advertising campaign designed to increase awareness among business taxpayers of the CRA's suite of electronic products and services for business.

2.1.12 The CRA recently conducted an initial survey of business users of the CRA Web site to gauge their awareness and use of the CRA's electronic services for business. This information will guide the development of the CRA's electronic services and influence our promotional activities.

2.2 Actions planned for 2007-2008

2.2.1 In 2007-2008, the CRA will review our business communication products to ensure that their content is relevant, appropriate, and presented in plain language. We will strengthen the existing processes to solicit feedback from small business stakeholders on our business publications.

We will evaluate the forms most commonly used by small business taxpayers with a view to streamlining them, where possible, and making them more user friendly.

2.2.2 The CRA will continue to focus on providing accurate and consistent responses to telephone enquires. For example, the CRA is developing a proposal to implement centres of expertise to respond to enquiries received on complex issues. We are also developing a strategy to strengthen our existing quality assurance program for telephone service.

2.2.3 We will expand the number of “Smartlinks” pages on our Web site.

2.2.4 The CRA will pilot a joint CD-ROM with the province of British Columbia addressed to small businesses, in which the contents of the CRA Electronic Services for Businesses and Individuals CD-ROM will be expanded to include information from the British Columbia Ministry of Small Business and Revenue.

2.2.5 We will introduce a training program to ensure that CRA employees who interact with small business taxpayers are knowledgeable about the CRA's electronic products and services for small business.

2.2.6 The CRA will continue our efforts to reach out to new small businesses. We will modify our existing outreach activities and local business seminars to ensure that they remain current and relevant. We will continue to increase our visibility in the small business community through outreach activities, community visits, and involvement in tradeshows. We will conduct five new pilot projects in Ontario that focus on identifying and contacting new small businesses to help them understand their tax responsibilities and inform them about how to access and use CRA services.

The CRA will explore the feasibility of partnering with certain provinces to include trade schools in its outreach activities. Our goal is to have a framework in place by March 2008.

2.2.7 The CRA will continue its advertising campaign targeting business taxpayers in 2007-2008.

2.2.8 The CRA will partner with key small business and professional advisor associations to identify sources of burden and will work with them to leverage our communication and outreach activities.

2.3 Actions planned for April 2008 and beyond

2.3.1 We will review the results of our “Smartlinks” program to gain a better understanding of the business user's experience and needs, and improve the content and organization of our Web site accordingly.

2.3.2 We will work with internal and external stakeholders to determine the desirability of implementing “Smartlinks” within the secure web pages of My Account and My Business Account. This would give taxpayers direct access to a CRA agent from within these secure channels, and allow the agent to respond to questions related to their specific account.

2.3.3 In 2008, the CRA will repeat our biennial survey of business users of the CRA Web site. The results will allow the CRA to identify changes in levels of awareness of the CRA's electronic services for business and trends in the use of these services.

Focus 3: We will make burden reduction systemic within the CRA.

3.1 Actions taken or underway

3.1.1 The CRA, in collaboration with internal stakeholders and members of the Action Task Force on Small Business Issues, has developed a Performance Measurement Framework for Compliance Burden Reduction (see Appendix A). This framework is intended to allow the CRA to measure its progress in burden reduction by analyzing our performance against a range of indicators.

3.1.2 The CRA participated in the development of the Statistics Canada Survey of Regulatory Compliance Costs. The initial survey was conducted in late 2006 as part of the federal government's Paperwork Burden Reduction Initiative. The CRA will continue to be involved in this triennial survey.

3.1.3 The CRA will review the reduction initiatives of other countries or other levels of government in order to identify potential CRA strategies.

3.1.4 The CRA will continue to conduct research and review the findings of various small business studies to better understand the characteristics, behaviour, and needs of small business taxpayers.

The CRA will validate our research results by comparing them against external sources such as studies conducted by other federal departments and external groups such as, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Conference Board of Canada and the Canadian Payroll Association.

3.2 Actions planned for 2007-2008

3.2.1 In light of the federal government's commitment to reduce the paperwork burden by 20 per cent, the CRA will establish an inventory of its administrative requirements and information obligations with which small businesses must comply.

3.2.2 The CRA will finalize its Performance Measurement Framework for Compliance Burden Reduction and confirm the performance measures that will be used to establish benchmarks.

3.2.3 The CRA will ensure that compliance burden reduction becomes a fundamental element of its forms review process and in the development of its administrative procedures. This could include creating a Burden Assessment Checklist that would be used when CRA business forms are introduced or revised.

3.3 Actions planned for April 2008 and beyond

3.3.1 We will measure and report on our progress in reducing the compliance and paperwork burden in our annual report to Parliament.

3.3.2 We will contribute to the federal government's target of reducing the paperwork burden by 20 per cent by November 2008.

3.3.3 We will validate our performance indicators and refine these, as necessary.

Conclusion

We are committed to implementing all of the initiatives in this plan in the timeframes indicated. As part of this commitment, we will establish ongoing accountability for burden reduction, which we will monitor through performance measures, reporting, and taxpayer feedback. We will:

• remain open to new and innovative ways to reduce the burden on small businesses;
• identify key indicators of burden, measure our progress, and report regularly to Parliament and the public; and,
• champion burden reduction horizontally across the CRA, and in our interactions with other government departments and levels of government.

Appendix A: Measuring the Small Business Compliance Burden

Background

The objective of this performance measurement framework is to measure the compliance burden faced by small businesses. The framework seeks to answer the two main questions posed by the Action Task Force on Small Business Issues:

• How do we accurately measure the current burden?
• How do we measure progress in reduction?

Based on our research, we identified two types of measures that were frequently used by other levels of government and countries to assess the compliance burden on small business. These measures relate to the time and money expended by small businesses in order to comply.

We divided these measures into two categories as presented in Table 1:

• direct measures - measures that have a direct impact on the time and money expenditures by small business; and
• indirect or proxy measures - measures of factors that indirectly affect time and money expenditures.

There are many factors that can affect the compliance burden over which we have little influence or control (e.g. characteristics of individual taxpayers, tax law and policy etc.). One of our objectives in developing this framework was to keep the number of indicators chosen to a minimum. We did this in order to:

• produce more meaningful results by maintaining the focus on the factors for which the Agency has control; and
• make data collection and analysis simpler and more manageable.

Performance Measurement Framework for Compliance Burden Reduction

Table 1

Category	Measure			Indicator		Sources of Information
Direct Measures
Measures of time and money expenditures	1	Costs in Time	1.1		Hours expended complying with CRA requirements such as completing tax and remittance forms	Statistics Canada Survey
			1.2		Timeliness – Index of service standard results for small business-related services, e.g. reversals, reviews, and reimbursements	CRA Annual Report
			1.3		CRA Response rate for telephone or in-person enquiries	CRA files
			1.4		Perceived changes in compliance costs (time) and perceived reasons for that change	Statistics Canada Survey
	2	Costs in Money	2.1		Costs to file taxes (third party, software etc.)	Statistics Canada Survey CRA Business Web Site User Survey
			2.2		Perceived changes in compliance costs (money) and perceived reasons for that change	Statistics Canada Survey
Indirect or Proxy Measures
Measures of factors that affect time and money	3	Complexity of the compliance process	3.1		Taxpayer error rate	CRA files
			3.2		Percentage of enquiries by topic	CRA files
			3.3		Percentage of web page visits by topic	CRA files
	4	Quantity and Quality of CRA services for taxpayers	4.1		User satisfaction with CRA services and staff	CRA files – surveys (e.g. CRA Business Web Site User Survey
			4.2		Time spent on CRA website	CRA files
			4.3		Accuracy and clarity of information provided by the CRA – rated by CRA and users	Statistics Canada Survey CRA Quality Assurance CRA Business Web Site User Survey
			4.4		CRA Outreach activities	Outreach activity feedback Publications in non-official languages Small business seminars

Appendix B: Members of the Action Task Force on Small Business Issues

Chair

William V. Baker
Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer
Canada Revenue Agency

Members

Bruce Ball
Partner
BDO Dunwoody LLP
Representing the Joint Committee on Taxation of The Canadian Bar Association and The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

Daniel Bourgeois
Président-directeur general
Association de planification fiscale et financière (APFF)

Judy Collyer
Partner
Duncan Sabine Collyer Partners, LLP
Representing the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada

Patrick Culhane
CEO and President
Canadian Payroll Association (CPA)

John Connell
Director General
Small Business Policy Branch
Industry Canada

Gary Evans
Vice-President
Edson Packaging Machinery Ltd.

Peter Harris
Partner
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
Representing the Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Monique Leclair
Assistant Commissioner
Quebec Region
Canada Revenue Agency

Elizabeth McPeak
Chartered Accountant

Richard Montroy
Director General
Legislative Policy Directorate
Canada Revenue Agency

Edie Pastuch
Director
Small Business Relations Division
Canada Revenue Agency

Philippe Pichette
Director
Software Product Management
CCH Canadian Limited

D.A. Robertson
Professor
University of Western Ontario
Richard Ivey School of Business

Barbara J. Slater
Assistant Commissioner
Assessment and Benefit Services Branch
Canada Revenue Agency

Garth Whyte
Executive Vice-President
Canadian Federation of Independent Business