In a series of three articles, we look at three initiatives other than the CVITP that the CRA seems to be focusing its efforts on to reach low and modest-income Canadian residents.  We show why these initiatives presently show less promise than the CVITP in tackling the fundamental problem of helping a greater percentage of Canada’s impoverished residents access the benefits to which they are entitled.

In the first article of this series, we looked at the CRA’s non-filers benefits letter initiative.  We argued that the results are insignificant, even questionable and bear no comparison with those obtained by the CVITP when it comes to assisting those living in poverty.

In this second article, we look at SimpleFile by Phone, the CRA’s automated phone service for filing returns which has operated since 2018 under a different name, File My Return.

Learn here why the results are insignificant, especially when compared with those produced by the CVITP.  It is also far less cost efficient in producing results than the CVITP.  Furthermore, we show why the service does not live up to its stated promise of helping Canadians who have not filed in the past to access their benefits. It is important to recognize the limitations of SimpleFile by Phone because, as will be seen in the third article, this is also part of the CRA’s pilot aimed at launching automatic tax filing.