The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has always had a reputation for strict and aggressive collection behaviour. When money is owed, agents will try their hardest to retrieve it. This usually results in extreme stress on the taxpayer and enforcement action that can wreak havoc on their financial stability. What’s worse, those tactics seem to be getting more and more aggressive. If you’ve got CRA tax debt collectors calling, read on.
When you receive an assessment, perhaps your initial thought is to call and speak to the CRA directly. When you try to negotiate with the CRA directly, before they even speak with you they will ask you to complete a financial disclosure form – this is a very dangerous form. They will want disclosure of everything from your bank account to your employer, to assets and income and expenses. Some of this information they may already have, or have the resources to obtain, but it is always easiest just to ask you.
Remember, the goal of each and every agent is to get what is owed, as soon as possible. They are not interested in negotiating a long, drawn-out payment arrangement. Perhaps you assume that they will allow a realistic schedule based on your income. Oh, they will, but it will be based solely on your income – requirements to other creditors will not be considered, and your debt to the CRA will be made the top priority.
Once this has happened, you will have little recourse. Since you’ve disclosed all of your information – where you bank, work, live, etc. – they can initiate enforcement action against you. This may include a frozen bank account, wage garnishment, even a lien on your home. Unlike other creditors, no court order is needed for CRA enforcement action, and once imposed it can be very difficult to remove.
Our best advice is this: if you have received a notice of assessment/re-assessment informing you of a tax debt, don’t go directly to the CRA. You should consider speaking with a financial specialist to find out about all of the available options for getting rid of the debt before the CRA comes calling.
If the CRA has already taken enforcement action, there are federal government programs that can protect your bank account and income. Speaking with a financial specialist, again, is the best approach here. We can help you take advantage of those programs and get rid of the tax debt once and for all.
Protect yourself and your assets. At DebtCare, we can help you get rid of a CRA tax debt and help you retain your financial footing. Call us today at 1-888-890-0888.
As the weather gets colder, some of us are happy to welcome the brisk cold weather – a break from the heat of the summer months, even if it brings with it some snow and frozen rain. However, when the freezing isn’t just taking place outside, and instead it is your finances taking a hit from Jack Frost, you may be in deeper trouble than you’d care to admit. This week we talk about the dreaded frozen bank account.
If you are drowning in debt and considering a bankruptcy in Canada or a consumer proposal as a solution for debt relief, you may be thinking that the best approach is to go directly to a trustee. Many trustees advertise that they have a solution to your debt problem, and that is true, but are they acting as your representative? Therein lies the problem.
A few weeks ago, we came across a CBC News article which discussed a recent TransUnion survey, and the results of that survey were quite startling. We’ve spoken before about low interest rates and the fact that many Canadians have taken advantage, but it is clear that those low interest rates have nowhere to go but up. What are the potential impacts of a rate hike? The CBC article enlightened us.
In our experience, for those looking to get rid of their debt, there is often a lot of confusion surrounding the various options available. With so many different types of debt solutions available, it can be difficult to determine which option is the best. Today, in the hopes of providing some clarification, we discuss two such options: the consumer proposal and debt consolidation.
Last week we talked about wage garnishments, a very common form of collection action, and how to stop them. This week we thought we’d follow up by discussing another very common type of collection action, frozen bank accounts, and what you can do when dealing with the freeze.
Wage garnishments, in the credit collection world, are all too common an occurrence. As a form of collection action, garnishing a person’s wages is often an effective way to retrieve a debt owed, and many collectors view it as the best way to collect. Usually these come in the form of personal wages being garnished, so when businesses have their monies garnished they are often surprised and wondering how this has happened.
When it comes to the Canadian economy, the last few years have been a whirlwind of activity. Record low oil prices which hurt the economy and a dollar which fell to levels we haven’t seen in years led the Bank of Canada to drop Canadian interest rates to record lows.
Did you know that DebtCare Canada is a service provided through many Employee Assistance Programs?