Kent Smith, Partner, PwC on SR&ED Dispute Resolution Advocacy

Dispute Resolution and the Second Opinion - Did the Minister's consultant, Paul Danielle Mueller have it right In 2009?

"- Claimants can legitimately expect to have access to a Second Technical Review (STR) at their own and sole discretion. Non-access to such a STR appears inconsistent with CRA's commitment to a complete formal review of disputes, under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. At the same time, access to a STR needs to be defined so as to mitigate the risk of abuse and uncontrolled cost."
" - MNR [Minister of National Revenue] might announce that he has asked CRA to redesign its dispute resolution process with regards to SR&ED claims so that:
Claimants have access to a Second Technical review (STR) at their sole discretion;
The STR will be performed by a qualified reviewer that is independent, in fact and in appearance, from the original RTA and his/her managers;
A mechanism will mitigate the risk that claimants abuse access [sic] the STR, thereby bogging down the system.
If the STR is located at the Appeals stage, then CRA could establish service standards for Appeals, especially for refundable claims."
Mr. Muller and the courts recognize that there is a bias in the CRA that must be addressed for disputes to be fairly and effectively addressed. How do we get CRA to see the light.

Read Mr. Mueller's full report at: http://www.cata.ca/files/PDF/2014/Mul...

CATA believes that the CRA’s de facto re-orientation of Canada's largest program of support for innovation needs to be corrected immediately so that the full spectrum of technological based advancements is supported and that SR&ED can be effectively claimed when it is conducted in conjunction with the highly integrated commercially-oriented development efforts that Canadian companies need to apply in order to be competitive and efficient, and respond to world markets.

View related resources at:
docs.google.com/document/d/11fY0TzekoDNzx34ONDP3ndtGYxt4xqMhGd1JD1xkhvk/edit?usp=sharing
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