Tax, tax, tax. There is nothing fun about tax – especially when you owe. If you owe the Canada Revenue Agency money, you are sitting on a ticking time bomb. They want that money and they will get it.

The Canada Revenue Agency is not your friend. Agents can be sneaky when it comes to finding and collecting tax dollars. Just remember: the more they are willing to negotiate with you, the less information they have – hence the willingness to ‘cooperate’. They will only negotiate to get information from you. And once they retrieve that information, that ‘cooperation’ can turn ugly, really quickly, leading to a payment plan that you can’t conceivably manage.

Here are some of the Canada Revenue Agency requests that may seem harmless at first:

• Asking where you work
• Asking where you bank
• Sending you a financial disclosure statement
• Asking you to submit info on your income and expenses in exchange for a payment plan

Sure, these may seem like basic requests, but this is how the information is used:

• Knowing where you live = search to see if you own your home, can be used to leverage a lien
• Knowing where you work = can be used to leverage a wage garnishment
• Knowing where you bank = can be used to leverage a frozen bank account
• Knowing who your clients are = can be used to set-off your receivables

If you have received any Canada Revenue Agency requests for information, you could be in serious trouble and should not try to deal with them directly, on your own. Any questions you answer, no matter how harmless they may seem, can be used against you. So, what can you do?

If you have a tax debt that you can pay, stop ignoring it and pay it. Once you’ve paid the balance on the debt, the Canada Revenue Agency will stop collection action because you no longer owe them money. This is the best solution to the problem.

However, if you have a tax debt you can’t pay, you have a financial problem, so get counsel before taking any action. Speaking to a financial specialist, one with the knowledge and experience helping individuals deal with Canada Revenue Agency requests and collection action, will help you determine the best course of action to deal with debt.

In the end, our best advice is to refrain from offering the CRA any recourse for action using information willingly handed over by you, the taxpayer.

Have a tax debt and receiving CRA requests for info and don’t know what to do? Call DebtCare. We can help you deal with the CRA and get rid of that tax debt. 1-888-890-0888.