the ten year is clock is stopped if you leave Canada....

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I got a call from canada revenue agency this week telling me i owe them $400 back from 2003 re: over payment on unemployment insurance. is there a time limit on these kind of things considering its been almost 9 years since that happened? this is the first time they got in touch with me since apparently they've had an outdated phone number. the debt is not much and i'm assuming half of it is interest after 8 years but if there is an angle where i have a legal right not to pay this due to time issue, i would like to know. anyone has any thought on this? r

Yes. There are no statute of limitations on Canada Revenue Agency. There are policy limits where it can't claim certain types of errors if proof is not available -- for example, they require businesses to have five years worth of receipts, so they can't challenge something six years ago based of this. However, if an amount is owning, they can collect on it as far back as they wish. Now... it is important to note how CRA works in terms of collections. You have fairly junior people assigned to collections, it's a terrible job, and normally their goal is to get through as many of these "little" collections as possible in a month so they can get promoted to larger accounts and/or other departments. So... you have some wiggle room. I would start by repeating that you never received a notice and would certainly have paid $200 back in 2003 if you had. Presumably, you've filed income taxes and CRA should have had a more recent phone number, or certainly an address, to send the notice to. Ask him if he could waive the interest penalties. If he won't, you can always ask about how to appeal that. At which point... he'll be mad that he can't clear such a minor case for the next month or two, and he'll probably want to waive the interest. However, it is worth getting this cleared before February. You don't want it messing up next years income tax returns over $200.

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The law says they can assess as far back as they want. Once you have been assessed, the statute of limitation on collectoin is ten years. However, many things can reset the clock and they will have another ten years.

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"i need some information from someone who knows canadian taxes really well. here is the problem, i do not live in canada, and have not live there for over 23 years. reason i left with my family was because hardship in canada, with the recession on loosing my house business and even a son died, i left to go to a new place to see if i could make money and help heal my heart. i filed my taxes before i left through h&r block canada, and the person that filed my taxes did not carry back my debt far enough as i had plenty of debt to use to carry forward as to know owe the canadian taxation revenue. so i got a statement from the saying i owed over $1,000 to canada taxation revenue. the problem is that i had never paid them, as i thought that they would notice that i had a lot of other debt that could have been carried forward to wipe out the paying of taxes. i know that it has been a long time since i have address this issue, but i have been an alcoholic for all these years and have finally come to grips with this problem and had got help; i really want to take care of this. is there a statue of limitations in having to take care of your tax problem? will i owe canadian taxation for the rest of my life. i want to do what is right. i still do not live in canada, as i am a dual citizen of another country so could i get some help on what i can do?

Running away will never solve anything. The first step is to consult the tax office or have a certified and reputable accountant do it for you, find out exactly what you owe and see if you can come to an arrangement. There is no statute of limitations on tax, if you owe you will have to pay. As long as you have a debt and you do not attempt to resolve it any chance of returning to Canada is problematical as they could arrest you as you try to enter the country. Talk to the tax office and get this dealt with,. Well done on taking the steps to deal with the other issues, i have been there too so i can understand what you have been through and why you want to fix things up. It may be painful too go through now but it will be worth it.

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I was a stay at home mom and am a canadian citizen. i divorced my husband in '99. i think he owes back taxes in canada from before we left. when i return and get a dl and social insurance etc. will i also have to pay his back taxes. i never worked and he claimed me as a dependant on our joint returns. my children are adults and i am 50. sorry i forgot to say we emigrated to the us in '89. and i am now moving back to canada.

You're safe if any of the following are true: 1) Canada has a statute of limitations on back taxes (in the US, the limit is 10 years) 2) If your ex paid the taxes and you just don't know it (they could have collected through wage or tax garnishment or by placing a levy on his bank account) 3) If the tax liability was his before you were married 4) If Canada allows you to claim "injured spouse" or something similar for filing your own taxes in safety. If you're truly not responsible for them, even in community property states, you can file with a protected status, and Canada might have the same thing. All you really need to do is call Canada Revenue, give them your name and tax number and ask if they have anything pending on file for you.

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I have every single receipt for every expense for the past 5 years ... how many years can i go back to claim these? i have never charged tax on my product, but i know that i would have to charge tax once i registered. anyone know of a good small business tax program that i could do this myself? p.s. this is for an ontario, canada small business. thanks! erin

Unless you qualify under the fairness provision to open the statute-barred years for reasons beyond your control, the normal period for taxpayers to correct the federal tax provisions, and obtain refunds for the resulting overpaid taxes, is three years -- the current year and the two previous years counting from the notice of assessment date of your 3rd last tax return. It is important to note that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is bound by the three-year Statute of Limitations in reassessing taxpayer's returns -- except if it suspects fraud, in which case it can reassess older returns. Note also that expenses from a hobby is generally not deductible, and the expenses only become deductible if the hobby becomes a business with a reasonable expectation of profit in a particular year. The tax programs sold at Futureshop or Staples should work OK for you.

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My questions is not about 2006 tax year. it is about this coming year (2007). someone told me that one way to reduce my taxes is to reigsiter a business and claim expenses like traveling, accomodation, etc.? does anyone know if this is true and how it works?

Hello, If I understand you correctly you are asking if you can register a business, then claim expenses as business expenses without there truly being business activity. As in, call it a business in an attempt to write off personal expenses. If I am understanding you correctly, then what you are asking about is tax fraud, and once discovered you can be reassessed for all years in which you deducted the expenses, will face steep penalties due to it being a willful act of fraud and possibly face criminal charges in court as well. For those who think you won't get caught unless you are "greedy" I would disagree. The Canada Revenue Agency is once again using the Reasonable Expectation of Profit (REOP) criteria when reviewing self employed returns. So if you claim numerous years of business losses that will actually flag your return to be reviewed. Once the auditor has determined the expenses should not have been claimed in the first place, there is no statute of limitations on how far back they can go to reassess tax returns. I would avoid any such illegal techniques. Cheers.

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Per the Federal and Texas Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are hereby ordered to CEASE & DESIST from all debt collection activities regarding any and all account or accounts in your control or possession or in the control or possession of any agent, employee, subcontractor, and/or subsidiary. Be advised that failure to read the contents of this letter may result in civil liability as it contains information necessary to avoiding civil liability. Please take notice that I have no income and all proceeds from life insurance policies are excluded from a recipient’s gross income. Internal Revenue Code § 101(a)(1). Furthermore, Texas statute unambiguously provides unlimited exemption for proceeds of life insurance policy. In re Young, 166 B.R. 854 (Bkrtcy. E.D. Tex. 1994). Accordingly, the Texas Insurance Code § 1108.051 states: “Except as provided by Section 1108.053, this section applies to any benefits, including the cash value and proceeds of an insurance policy, to be provided to an insured or beneficiary under... an insurance policy... by a life... insurance company… Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, insurance... Bene-fits…. are fully exempt from... garnishment, attachment, execution, or other sei-zure… seizure, appropriation, or application by any legal or equitable process or by operation of law to pay a debt or other liability of an insured or of a bene-ficiary, either before or after the benefits are provided; and a demand in a bank-ruptcy proceeding of the insured or beneficiary.” The primary purpose of anti-alienation provision of Texas Insurance Code, under which proceeds of life insurance policy are exempt from seizure to satisfy any debt or liability of insured or beneficiary, is to protect policy proceeds from actions of creditors. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada v. Dunn, 134 F.Supp.2d 827 (S.D. Tex. 2001). Under Texas law, cash surrender values of life insurance policies are fully exempt under Insurance Code, and are not included within $60,000 exemption limitation under Property Code. In re Shurley, 163 B.R. 286 (Bkrtcy. W.D. Tex. 1993). Under Texas law, money paid to debtor-beneficiary of term life insurance policy is exempt, as long as it can be traced to that source, pursuant to statute shielding from garnishment, attachment, execution or other seizure “any benefits, including the cash value and proceeds of an insurance policy, to be provided to an insured or beneficiary.” In re Trautman, 496 F.3d 366 (Tex. 2007). This letter is also a WARNING that I will utilize telephone recording devices in order to document any telephone conversations that we may have in the future. Also, should any notice of collection or negative information in any way is placed on any of my credit bureau reports by your agency or firm after receipt of this notice, I will be compelled to respond with a civil action. Please be advised that should I decide to settle this account, I will settle this account with the original creditor; however, as of now, I have no ability or intention to pay the debt. If I am contacted telephonically regarding this account or debt, as stated previously, please be advised I will respond with a civil action citing certified mail postage costs, court costs, gas expenses, and cellular telephone minute usage as my “actual damages.” Please be advised that I am currently in a weakened mental state. This should serve as a notice to your agency, company, or firm that even the most polite call regarding debt collection can cause serious emotional distress and mental anguish. Although previously stated in general, you are hereby ORDERED not to contact me by telephone. Note that damages for mental anguish are recoverable under Texas Debt Collection Practices Act. Monroe v. Frank, 936 S.W.2d 654 (App. 5 Dist. 1996). In fact, an action for unreasonable debt collection efforts may be maintained absent a plea of physical illness or injury. Campbell v. Beneficial Finance Co. of Dallas, 616 S.W.2d 373 (Civ. App. 1981). A consumer seeking to recover damages under the Texas Fair Debt Collection Practices Act need only merely show that the harm suffered was a reasonably foreseeable result of the conduct. Brown v. Oaklawn Bank, 718 S.W.2d 678 (Tex.1986). This standard has been satisfied with notification of my sensitive mental condition. Please also be advised that the Texas Finance Code § 392.403 mandates, “A person who successfully maintains an action under this section for violation of Section 392.101, 392.202, or 392.301(a)(3) is entitled to not less than $100 for each violation of this chapter.” And although the Texas Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not provide for automatic minimum penalty award and instead requires plaintiff debtor to prove actual damages to recover against debt collector , the statutory subsection requiring a minimum award to the prevailing plaintiff for each statutory violation effectively conditi