There are a number of new CRA features and rules for tax professionals introduced by the federal tax collector this year.
Starting in 2013, tax preparers filing more than 10 returns must do so electronically. If a client gets a request from CRA for documents related to his return, these can now be scanned and sent to the tax agency through its website.
There’s also a one-year pilot project where CRA’s Income Tax Rulings Directorate has started offering a pre-ruling consultation. The pre-ruling consultation will allow taxpayers to tell the CRA about “any unique, new technical issue that is critical to the structuring of seriously proposed transactions in advance of submitting a ruling request.” The pre-ruling consultation is meant to reduce costs to the taxpayer.
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For corporations, CRA has eliminated the option to defer tax if the corporation has a significant interest in a partnership that has a different fiscal year.
CRA has also started producing income tax folios, which have updated information on tax preparation. These will replace tax interpretation bulletins, which are being phased out.