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Released: 09 March, 1998
Revenue Canada Announces Enhanced Client Services
OTTAWA, March 9, 1998...The
Honourable Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of National Revenue and M.P. (Vancouver South
- Burnaby), today announced a number of client service initiatives for the 1998
tax filing season. These include the establishment of a new call site that will
help individuals get better access to the telephone service when they call their
local Revenue Canada office.
The new National 1-800
Overflow Call Centre, located in Ottawa, automatically receives 1 800 calls that
would otherwise receive a busy signal at the local office. As a result, more
people are able to get through to the Department's enquiries lines. "We
have established this new telephone service to ensure that we are more
accessible to our clients," said Mr. Dhaliwal. "We want individuals
who need filing season or credit information to get the assistance they're
looking for in the shortest time possible."
The National 1-800 Overflow
Call Centre can handle up to 10,000 enquiries a day.
The National 1-800 Overflow
Call Centre is one of a series of initiatives the Department is undertaking to
improve accessibility to its clients. Revenue Canada has also made an additional
investment in its enquiries services in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. The
Department has implemented strategies to reduce the need for taxfilers to call,
such as making more information available on the Internet and expanding its
outreach and client education programs. Revenue Canada is also using the latest
technology, like automated front-end phone messages, to make further
improvements to client services.
Minister Dhaliwal also
announced an expansion of the Department's TELEFILE service to millions of
taxpayers across the country.
Beginning this year, Revenue
Canada's TELEFILE service is available nationally. TELEFILE is an automated
process which allows certain taxpayers to file their income tax returns from
home using a touch-tone phone. To use the service, they simply complete their
returns, call the TELEFILE service, and provide the requested tax information
using the telephone keypad. The automated service then completes all the
calculations.
"TELEFILE is an easy and
convenient way to file a tax return," Mr. Dhaliwal said. "As well, the
service is secure, confidential and quick. We can process most TELEFILE tax
returns within two weeks."
Approximately 8 million
taxpayers have received a TELEFILE invitation with their income tax returns. To
date, over 135,000 taxpayers have successfully used TELEFILE to send their
returns to Revenue Canada.
The Minister also stated that
so far this filing season, the Department has received 839,838 paper returns and
543,326 electronically filed returns. The total number of returns assessed to
date is 765,649. Of this number, 579,680 will result in refunds to taxpayers. To
date, Revenue Canada has issued $500 million worth of refunds.
For those Canadians who have
not yet filed, the Minister outlined the many tax assistance services available
to help clients during filing season. These include the Community Volunteer
Income Tax Program, extended hours of service, Saturday service, and temporary
tax clinics.
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10T/98
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