In our most recent article on the CVITP’s coverage of the impoverished in Canada, we concluded that the CVITP remains a very effective program for helping those on low and modest incomes to file their income tax and benefit returns, thereby getting the benefits to which they are entitled.  We also noted that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) should redouble its efforts to expand the CVITP as most Canadian residents living in poverty still do not benefit from this free service.

Yet we noted that post-pandemic, the CRA appears to have scaled back its ambitions for the CVITP.  The CRA no longer sets any targets for reaching more clients. Presently, it is unclear what its goals for and commitments are to this program.

Instead, the CRA seems to be focusing its efforts on reaching Canadian residents on low and modest incomes through three other initiatives: non-filers benefits letter initiative, SimpleFile by Phone (formerly File My Return) and the piloting of automatic tax filing.

In a series of three articles, we show why these three 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 this first article, we look at what the CRA calls its “non-filers benefits letter initiative” which it has operated for the last seven years to encourage non-filers to submit a return. 

Learn here why 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.