In October the CRA announced the signing of the MOA with the Province
of Ontario to combine the federal and provincial corporate tax. Here is
an excerpt of what was sent out by the CRA:
Corporate Tax Administration for Ontario (CTAO) Initiative
In November 2004, the Ontario government announced, “Ontario and
the federal government would design a single federal tax collection system
for both Ontario and federal corporate taxes”. From a business
perspective this was an exciting step forward that would lead to tax
simplification and provide benefits, such as reduced costs and increased
efficiencies for corporations in Ontario. From a regional perspective,
I was delighted that our Region and the Ontario Ministry of Finance (OMoF)
were at the forefront of this business endeavour.
Today, the Commissioner announced the much anticipated signing of the
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that will lead the Canada Revenue Agency
(CRA) to administer the corporate tax for Ontario. This agreement marks
an important milestone in federal-provincial relations. It is the day
Ontario joins the seven other provinces and three territories for which
the CRA administers corporate tax collection. It is also our opportunity
to contribute to achieving the Agency’s 2010 vision of improving, evolving and expanding the CRA’s
core business to provide efficient service.
Now that the MOA is signed, the CRA and OMoF will start negotiations for
a Human Resources Agreement (HRA), memorandum of understandings for other
corporate taxes, Transitional Agreements and Plans, and a Service Management
Framework Agreement (SMFA). Once these agreements are concluded, the corporate
tax administration functions will be transferred gradually from the OMoF
to the CRA. While the work of transitioning and implementing the CTAO will
extend over the next three years, the overall success of this initiative
is fundamental to our evolution as an agency that extends from coast-to-coast-to-coast.
Many will watch the CTAO initiative, including our employees and unions,
the OMoF, the Department of Finance, Ontario corporations and other provinces
considering a similar approach. I assure you, we will be centre stage in
various environments until we deliver an efficient administration of corporate
income tax in Ontario that offers one set of rules, one form, one audit
and one appeal process.
Over the past three months there have been a number of conference call
with the CRA Ontario AC and or Regional Management on the following issues:
Reorganization in Human Resources, Reorganization of the Voluntary Disclosure
Program and the, WFA Guidelines.
