The Taxpayers' Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, has requested that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) make improvements to its online resources to help reduce the number of calls to its contact centres.
After reviewing some of the CRA's web pages, our Office has identified areas that could lead to taxpayers calling the CRA when they do not need to. For example, when a taxpayer wants to change their personal information with the CRA, sometimes its web pages give equal emphasis to phone, mail, and digital options and do not adequately outline the benefits of using digital self-service options. They also do not explicitly state that these options are faster and easier to use, nor do they reassure taxpayers that they are safe and secure.
Additionally, the Contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) web page is difficult to navigate. It also does not sufficiently direct taxpayers to self-service options or inform them of their benefits. The CRA should make this page easier to use and more intuitive. It should also promote self-service options first while identifying, removing and preventing accessibility barriers.
With these changes, taxpayers will be more likely to complete tasks themselves-without the need to call the CRA. In turn, this should ease pressure on contact centre agents and give them more time to speak with callers with more complex issues or who cannot complete their tasks on their own. Additionally, these changes could give the CRA more flexibility to move contact centre agents to areas experiencing backlogs to help reduce delays and improve processing times.
Background information
