Mandate

The Taxpayers' Ombudsman is responsible for ensuring that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) respects the following service rights outlined in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights:

• Article 5: the right to be treated professionally, courteously, and fairly;
• Article 6: the right to complete, accurate, clear, and timely information from the CRA;
• Article 9: the right to lodge a service complaint and to be provided with an explanation of the CRA findings;
• Article 10: the right to have the costs of compliance taken into account when tax legislation is administered;
• Article 11: the right to expect the CRA to be accountable;
• Article 13: the right to expect the CRA to publish service standards and report annually;
• Article 14: the right to expect the CRA to warn you about questionable tax schemes in a timely manner; and
• Article 15: the right to be represented by a person of your choice.

The Taxpayers' Ombudsman's role is to also:

• conduct impartial and independent reviews of service-related complaints about the CRA;
• facilitate taxpayer access to assistance within the CRA;
• identify and review systemic and emerging service-related issues within the CRA that have a negative impact on taxpayers; and
• provide advice to the Minister of National Revenue about service‑related matters in the CRA.