July 17, 2023
We have previously made the case for host organizations to collect and analyse data from their CVITP clinics to demonstrate the impact of their work to stakeholders and to improve their clinics in future years. What data from the CVITP clinics are we talking about? We identified three different kinds of data:
- Technical data on the return filing process (e.g., number of returns filed, number of error free returns, nature of errors in returns) could be used to monitor current performance and improve on the provision of CVITP service delivery in the future.
- Demographic and economic data could be used to learn more about the population currently served and improve targeting efforts in the future.
- Data on the benefits and credits generated for clients could be used to demonstrate to stakeholders the impact of the current CVITP service on their clients’ financial situations.
There are two ways to get this data: the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) could provide it or host organizations could collect it themselves. In this article, we look at the first of these methods.
The CRA does not do this at present. But is it really such a far-fetched idea?
Could it?
Last year and again recently, we pointed out that the CRA already collects all of the above data through the income tax and benefit return process. It analyses it and makes it available to the public in aggregated form both through its own website and Statistics Canada’s website. But up to now, it has not provided feedback to the host organizations on any of the data that they collect for it. The introduction of the CVITP Organization Identification Number or COIN now makes it possible, in principle, to do this.
Should it?
There are several reasons why we think it is in the CRA’s own interests to provide the data.
- It will give the CRA’s partner organizations information they need to improve access to and the delivery of their CVITP services, both of which contribute to the CRA’s objectives for the CVITP.
- It will give the CRA’s partner organizations information they need to demonstrate the impact of their CVITP clinics to their stakeholders, thereby increasing their ability to raise additional funds from other sources in support of this service. Should they be successful, this will reduce the pressure the CRA may be under to provide additional financial support.
- It is only fair that the CRA should do this as its host organizations provide this essential service and currently get next to nothing from the CRA in return for doing so. This will go some way toward correcting for what is currently a highly imbalanced relationship in which the CRA expects a lot from and depends a lot on host organizations but gives them very little in return.
If the CRA accepts the above reasons, it could make this happen.
Would it?
But even if the CRA could and should provide the data to participating organizations, the CRA may not do this on its own initiative. Host organizations are going to have to ask the CRA for the data. To make it easier for them to do this, we have prepared a template of a letter which can be used or modified and sent to the CRA.
To get commitment from senior managers within the host organization who may be less familiar with the subject, we have also prepared a background note that a CVITP clinic coordinator can use internally to brief them.
Why wait for the 2024 tax season? Do it now!
If a host organization thinks it is a good idea, now is the time to send in this letter. It will give the CRA ample time to plan for any changes in practice before the 2024 tax season.
However, we are not naïve in believing that the CRA would do this just because a handful of host organizations ask for it. As it represents an important change in institutional practice, it will likely require a sustained letter writing campaign over the longer term by many host organizations to convince the CRA to make the technical, demographic, economic and benefit-related data available to each of its participating organizations for the CVITP service they are providing and the populations they are serving.
In the short term, what does a host organization do to get the data it needs to improve its CVITP service and to demonstrate the impact of this service? This will be the subject of a forthcoming article.