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Leef as tax adviser, this we gotta see

Leef as tax adviser, this we gotta see The government saves taxpayers dollars by closing Canada Revenue Agency counter service across the country, but is there truly going to be a savings overall? Yukon MP Ryan Leef has reported that for those who pref

The government saves taxpayers dollars by closing Canada Revenue Agency counter service across the country, but is there truly going to be a savings overall?

Yukon MP Ryan Leef has reported that for those who prefer front-counter service, his office will offer what services he can.

Mr. Leef has reported that he returned more than $100,000 of the budget allotted to him for local office work last year as he did not need it. He is now saying that he will hire additional part-time staff or a contract worker to meet the needs of the public who would otherwise use the CRA office.

So the question is, how much money is really being saved by this government?

The closure of the Whitehorse office alone is providing a savings to CRA, but the cost of that savings is now being spent by the local MP office. As well, employees who offered these services were highly trained individuals that provided this service to the general public. How is Mr. Leef going to ensure they have the adequate training in the field of expertise to respond to public enquiries?

Should be interesting to see how Mr. Leef will handle a complaint from a member of public on CRA enquiries, when it may be his office that provided service.

Pamela Abbott

VP Pacific Region

Union of Taxation Employees