The title of today's Brandon's Brandon's Blog is Canada Recovery Benefit Act.
Everything You Need To Know If CRA Is In Battle With You For Repayment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in the worst of it, with all the lockdowns,
the government of Canada was fast to hand out money to help Canadians survive.
There was very little checking
at the front end on all the applications that were filed.
Now we're entering a different phase where Canada Revenue Agency
is now looking at every application and all the money it handed out.
And if it does not feel it has adequate
proof in order to show that the applicant was eligible to receive the benefit,
then they are asking the taxpayer for documentation.
And if they are not satisfied
with the documentation, they are making demand for the return of the money.
My name is Ira Smith.
President of Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc.
Both Brandon Smith and myself are available to answer any questions you may
have, either about this Brandon's Blog or anything else at all.
Shoot us a message, give us a phone call.
We would love to speak with you.
We are now handling insovlency filings for people
who received the Canada Recovery Benefit, used the money to pay rent and to buy food.
They have now been asked by CRA
for documentation to prove they were eligible for the money they received.
They supplied the documentation
and CRA was still not happy, and they made demand on the people
to repay the money; money that they do not have anymore.
So Brandon goes through in the Brandon's Blog below
the entire Canada Recovery Benefit program, which of course has been closed
for some time now, and how that benefit program used to work.
And of the various requirements,
the main one was that you have to have
shown that in 2019 and 2020, or 2020,
or in the twelve months preceding the date of your application,
you made at least $5,000 from employment income or self-employment income.
The thing that CRA
never made clear to self-employed people is that they're not looking at top line
revenue, they're looking at bottom line net income.
So if you suffered a loss from self-
employment, that means you did not qualify for the benefit, even though you were just
as needy as any other Canadian and just as deserving.
So the benefit ran out.
Brandon then goes through three benefit
programs the government brought into play afterwards, and they have all run out.
So now we're in the phase where CRA is going after people to repay the money.
So what kind of proof can they ask for?
There was a court decision not too long
ago that said T4 statements may not be enough proof.
So the fact that you filed your tax
returns every year and you included your income documentation
and CRA has it in their system, that's not good enough,
because under the Canada Recovery Benefit Act,
the legislation says that the Minister can ask for any information the Minister wants
in order to verify your eligibility for the program.
So the courts have held that as far as employed people, employees,
examples of sufficient proof would be things like not only your T4
statements, but also things like pay stubs, letter of employment confirming you are
employed, and other internal company information.
And if you were let go, then your record of employment.
As far as self-employed individuals, they can ask to see copies of all
the invoices you've generated in your business.
So it is very far reaching and CRA can ask literally for whatever it wants.
So will you have to ever repay the Canada Recovery Benefit?
The answer is if you were never eligible and it could be as simple as that,
you made a mistake, you thought you were, then yes, you could have to repay it.
So I invite you to read the entire
Brandon's Blog below because I know you will get value from it.
Again, both Brandon Smith and myself are available to answer any questions you may
have either about this Brandon's Blog or anything else at all.
So shoot us a message, give us a phone call.
We would love to speak with you.