The Canada Revenue Agency national headquarters in Ottawa.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Taxing stuff
Re “Auditor-General takes aim at CRA on call centre delays, inaccurate answers” (Oct. 22): I believe we are attempting to “solve” the wrong problem.
Canada’s tax code is now so complicated and abstruse that we require thousands of public employees plus an even larger number of accountants and tax lawyers to help a sizable portion of taxpayers file accurate returns. It is costly to every single taxpayer.
Some say we should make everyone a tax expert by spending more tax dollars on artificial intelligence or some other fantasy solution. Or maybe the Feds might understand there is a less expensive and fairer answer right in front of us: Simplify the tax code.
Don’t say it would take too long or be too difficult. It would still be cheaper to streamline our tax code than attempt to fix something we don’t need or want.
Bring in a flat tax rate so that anyone can do a return quickly and easily.
Brian Sterling Oakville, Ont.
I had reason to call the Canada Revenue Agency call centre this week. I enjoyed what might have been the best such experience of my life.
I waited about one minute and the person I spoke to was friendly and helpful. When they didn’t have the answer (the reason for my call was not run-of-the-mill) they put me on hold for “a couple of minutes,” which turned out to be less than that, and came back with that answer. They also went out of their way to point out other aspects of the situation which they felt I should be aware of.
Of course my call was not during tax season, and it was only one call. But I thought it only fair to point out that my experience was outstanding.
Ira Greenblatt Ottawa
The Auditor-General found that Canada Revenue Agency call centres provide correct information 17 per cent of the time.
If my tax return is 17-per-cent correct, will the CRA be okay with that?
Graham White Toronto
Job creation
Re “It’s okay for Ottawa to keep borrowing. But let’s not go overboard” (Report on Business, Oct. 21): Federal government expenditures should be evaluated not by any arbitrary “fiscal anchor,” but by their effect on the real economy, in particular the rate of unemployment.
Today’s economic punditry often ignores the high cost of keeping about 1.6 million Canadians inactive and not contributing to economic production, and whose skill levels, mental health and family life deteriorate over time, leading to expensive and intractable social problems.
The economy can be likened to a cup: While we want to avoid overfilling and causing inflation, neither should we underfill it, tolerating unnecessary recession and insufficient job creation.
Statistical anchors are ideological in nature, designed to restrain government action, and have little economic justification. The federal government wholly owns the Bank of Canada and can spend any appropriate amount required.
Evaluate the budget by whether it enables all employable Canadians to earn income, contribute productively to society and share the benefits.
Larry Kazdan Vancouver
Solid gold
Re “Three reasons to be deeply skeptical about the current gold rally” (Report on Business, Oct. 18): It is difficult to view gold as an investment because it should not be.
What gold is: a hedge against the loss of value of fiat money as a result of debasement of our money via the printing press. The authorities have been debasing currencies for decades, which is why the U.S. dollar has been steadily losing value over the years when measured in terms of one ounce of gold.
Gold cannot be printed and devalued. It is the only asset that is no one else’s liability and has an intrinsic value recognized and appreciated for centuries by those seeking to preserve the value of their savings.
It is therefore the only true, timeless and universal money. In the Bible, we know that when Sennacherib of Assyria attacked the kingdom of Judah, Hezekiah agreed to pay Sennacherib 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold to withdraw his troops.
H. Bradley Bloomer Ottawa
Made in Canada
Re “Crispr gave humans the power to remake ourselves. What will we do with it?” (Opinion, Oct. 18): There is also the contribution of the Canadian discovery researcher Sylvain Moineau. While working with collaborators at the food company Danisco, he discovered that Crispr is part of a molecular machine known as Crispr-Cas9.
This fundamental work at Dr. Moineau’s lab at Laval University showed that after a viral attack, a few bacterial survivors had incorporated part of the viral DNA within Crispr sequences in their bacterial genome. The discovery of immune memory in bacteria of a prior viral infection is the outcome of this work. Dr. Moineau also discovered that Cas9 severs the DNA of an attacking virus, preventing it from reinfecting the bacterium.
A national discovery and innovation project, which we recently made a case for in The Globe and Mail, could address the under-recognition of Canadian talent by creating a unified platform to promote Canadian breakthroughs with health and economic benefits.
John Bergeron and Kathleen Dickson Pointe-Claire, Que.
Stanley Kutcher, Senator Ottawa
Let’s play ball
Re “Blue Jays fans, resellers race for World Series tickets” (Report on Business, Oct. 22): I experienced firsthand the futility of trying to secure tickets to the World Series.
To be fair, I expected all of the futility that I got. If it were strictly a case of everyone in Toronto and beyond wanting to be part of this experience, then it would be completely understandable.
However, when I did make it through the virtual queue about 30 minutes after sales opened, there were thousands of seats available, but only at resale values averaging $5,000 a seat. This means a significant number of purchasers never had any intention of going to the game, but were there to make profit off real fans.
We once had a law in Ontario capping resale value at 150 per cent of face value, but the Ford government rescinded it. To what end?
Charles Pick Toronto
Re “The U.S. can spare the Blue Jays its pity World Series fandom” (Sports, Oct. 23): The Toronto Blue Jays are the only Major League Baseball team playing for a country.
Need proof? Watch video of the Calgary Flames game when the jumbotron showed the Jays had defeated Seattle. It was easily the loudest cheer of the night.
Win or lose the World Series, I would like to thank the Jays for giving Canada something to cheer about right now. We could really use it.
Dan Petryk Calgary
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