I realize this is a little late in terms of writing about the CRA and taxes, but recently I was helping someone secure some tax forms. 

When dealing with CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), it’s much like dealing with someone who is a brand new employee in a department store. 

When you ask a seasoned employee at, say, Canadian Tire, “Where would I find 4 stroke engine oil for my lawnmower?”, he or she will be able to tell you. “Oh that’s in Automotive, aisle 34, about half way down on the right side.”

That’s helpful. That’s information that will get me right to the product I’m looking for. 

When asking the same question to a brand new employee, you might get, “Oh, that’s over in Hardware, by the lawnmowers.”

The new employee can only give you a general area and, even then, he or she sends you to the wrong part of the store. 

That’s like CRA. 

You can phone in, ask a question and get a different answer every time. And every time the answer will prove to be unhelpful.

Even their websites are not helpful. I tried two or three different websites to get the documents I needed and each URL had the same incomplete documents.

What I was trying to do is get a paper copy of the income tax package. Remember those things? You got a booklet that contained all the instructions. Included were two copies of the actual return form in case you made a mistake on one of them. 

And, of course, you got an envelope in which to mail your return.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen them, hasn’t it? The reason it’s been a long time is because no place has them anymore. You used to be able to pick them up at the post office. Well, now you can’t even get them from Service Canada. 

What you can do is order a tax package from a CRA website. It takes about ten days to arrive. … I think when they receive an order they must send an office boy out to a print shop to have one printed. 

The CRA website had a link to where you could “download and print” the complete tax package … which made sense to me. I mean, why not make it downloadable for people to print off at home, on the spot, rather than ordering it online and having to wait 10 days for it to arrive by mail. 

But when you click the link to the downloadable tax package, the first thing they tell you is you can fill it out online. If I wanted to fill the form out online I wouldn’t be looking for the downloadable print version!! 

With the link, you can only print the 8 page tax form. If you want schedules and guides, each one has to be downloaded individually.

I wasted hours searching and in the end my friend will have to wait another 10 days before she can get her hands on a paper copy of the tax forms. 

Here’s the thing: Would it be great to have one place where you can find the help you need for what you are facing in life? Well, we do have a single source to go to and it’s God. You can reach Him by prayer and by His Word, the Bible. God does have the help we need for what we are facing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is it that you need help with right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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