Local accountant explains how PSAC strike affects tax season
Posted Apr 19, 2023 06:55:52 AM.
Last Updated Apr 19, 2023 07:05:56 AM.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) strike has left many wondering how tax season will be affected, considering the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) might not be operating the way Canadians are used to.
Tim Sothern is a partner with BDO Canada from Waterloo Region who has over 25 years of public accounting experience.
He told CityNews 570 in an interview that folks in Waterloo Region shouldn’t bet on getting any leeway with the deadline to file income taxes.
“What we’ve been told is that there will be no extensions given to the April 30th deadline,” said Sothern. “The government has infrastructure in place for electronically filing returns. Where you will see the most impact is doing anything unusual with CRA, or paper filing, or trying to contact anyone for questions or different requests that require direct interaction with a CRA agent.”
For that reason, Sothern suggested that people file online this year, and to get your information together sooner rather than later, whether you’re filing by yourself or with a firm. Submitting late could result in late filing fees and interest on what you owe.
“Anything that is paper filed needs to be handled by an individual with data input, so certainly would be encouraging anyone out there to be electronically filing their returns this year.”
According to the PSAC website, the only picket line in Waterloo Region is set up at Weber Street and Frederick street.
