Halifax man frustrated with time CRA taking to process 2016 tax refund

A Halifax man says he’s frustrated waiting for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to process his 2016 tax refund.

“I have plans to do stuff with that money. I want to put my little girl in dance class, and I want to do things like that. I want to put my son in music lessons. It’s also putting a lot of stress on me,” Ferris Tobin, a single father of two, said on Wednesday.

He said he submits his tax returns on time through a professional every year, and he is supposed to get $5,400 back this year.

READ MORE: CRA call centre only picks up the phone one-third of the time: auditor general

Tobin said his submission and few other years’ submissions were reassessed, subsequently resulting in a six-month delay of Canada Child Benefit payments.

He said that the CRA had issues with child care expenses he claimed, so he tried to fix the problem himself but had trouble getting someone to pick up when he called the CRA.

Tobin got his MP Andy Fillmore’s office involved in September and proof he was eligible for his claims was faxed in a week later.

The CRA accepted the documents and increased the refund to $6,900 on Dec. 12, but he said he hasn’t gotten the money yet.

READ MORE: Canadians pay on average 42.5 per cent of their income in taxes

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When Tobin asked for more information about his case from the CRA on Wednesday, he was told that, because his MP is involved, he’d have to get that information from the MP.

Fillmore’s office provided a statement to Global News: “With Mr. Tobin’s permission, we are able to share that we have been working with him to resolve a matter involving the Canada Revenue Agency. We expect the matter will be resolved very soon. We will continue to be in touch with Mr. Tobin about any developments.”

In a separate statement, the CRA said it’s working to improve its services regarding the Canada Child Benefit.