Tax problems? You can appeal for tax fairness

Zoomer | January 1st, 2006

The Fairness Provision is a welcome relief for taxpayers who have suffered hardships.

If through events beyond your control you are unable to file your return or pay your taxes on time, you can request extensions, the waiving of penalties or interest or refunds of overpaid taxes in certain instances. Simply write a letter to the Fairness Committee at the Tax Services Office in your area to outline your difficulties.

Qualifying circumstances include the failure to file or pay due to

  • Natural or man-made disasters
  • Civil disturbances or strikes
  • A serious accident or illness
  • A serious family event (i.e. death)
  • Errors in public documents
  • Incorrect advice from the tax department about a taxpayer’s matters including the payment of instalments
  • Errors in processing at the tax department

Your performance as a model tax-filing citizen over the past years will influence the Fairness Committee’s deliberation of your request. The process itself has been very successful in reducing more formal appeals of simple tax filing problems.