"Whatever you do may seem insignificant,
but it is most important that you do it."
Mahatma Gandhi
The need to continue consultations means that CCRA has no choice but to use the exisiting T2201 form for the 2002 tax year. Although the form is problematic for many individuals with severe and prolonged disabilities, we must ensure that a new form is an improvement over the previous form and does not discriminate against individuals with mental impairments.
Ask your doctor to provide as much detailed information as possible to describe the disabling impacts of your impairment when he is completing the T2201 and whenever possible, enclose copies of medical reports to substantiate the claim. If you are not satisfied with CCRA's evaluation of your claim, get in touch with your MP.
You will also need to file a Notice of Objection with the Chief of Appeals within 90 days of the date the Notice of Assessment was mailed to you. CCRA has published a booklet, Your Appeal Rights Under the Income Tax Act P148(E) by calling your local tax office.
For more information, see Appeal Guidelines.
The problem
CCRA sent letters to 106,000 persons in October 2001. According to CCRA testimony at the Sub-committee hearing given by Mr. David Miller, "this tax benefit had been provided for life" for nearly 200,000 individuals... " and we have not contacted anyone in that group for the last five years, if not 15."
According to CCRA statistics 16,000 individuals did not return the T2201 form and therefore are no longer eligible for the tax credit.
As many as 30,000 claims have been rejected because CCRA has determined that they do not meet the eiligibiliy criteria as it is spelled out in the T2201 form.
The questions
How many people, who received the tax credit in the years 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996 and some as far back as 1985, will not receive the tax credit for the year 2001?
According to CCRA testimony at the Sub-committee hearing given by Mr. Tom Kissner, "... it shouldn't come as a surprise that there are going to be people who should not have received the tax credit in the first place." How many persons was he talking about?
How many of the 30,000 individuals recieving a reject letter have been unjustly denied their claim because CCRA is trying to cut its losses?
How many of the 16,000 people did not respond to the audit because:
- they found the letter to be intimidating;
- they did not understand the audit's purpose;
- they could not find a doctor to complete the T2201 form because there were no questions dealing specifically with mental illnesses;
- the doctor did not understand the form;
- the doctor did not want to be harassed by CCRA;
- they could not afford the doctor's fee to complete the T2201 form; or
- they were simply too disabled to visit their doctor.
Any answers to the above questions can be sent to Lembi Buchanan at info@disabilitytaxcredit.com.
Correct answers and best guesses will be posted on the web site. Your identity will be protected if requested.
Close to 20 health charities representing more than 6,000,000 Canadians have sent a joint letter to all MPs stating their concerns about CCRA's disregard for their input to help
ensure tax fairness for all Canadians with disabilities.
Contact your MP and ask him/her to support the request of the health charities to work with government to seek an effective and efficient process for providing tax credits to severely disabled Canadians who meet the eligibility criteria in the Act.
"Manley ... dealt a shattering blow to Canadians with disabilities and rode roughshod over the country's justice system while he was at it."
