Frequent Comments
We have compiled the comments which our clients and potential
clients make to us frequently and our replies to these comments.
If the "people" are the public accountants, they are
usually retained to perform a specific function. That may be a "Notice
to Reader", a "Review Engagement", or an "Audit
Report".
Whatever function they are performing, their fees are structured for that specific
function and rarely include another service such as a Tax Recovery service.
If the "people" are the in-house accountants and accounting clerks,
whether your organization is growing or maintaining its level of growth, these "people" usually
are kept fully occupied by their daily duties and responsibilities and rarely
have time to set aside for conducting a Tax Recovery task.
Experience has shown that due to the ever changing tax laws
and regulations and refund claims procedures, tax recoveries are optimized
when an orderly review is performed by a tax recovery professional who has
experience as a government auditor.
A Government auditor focuses on the tax laws his or her department administers. An Ontario Provincial Sales Tax auditor focuses on the appropriate Ontario Provincial Sales Tax Act and Regulations, for example. While Government auditors are supposed to advise you of tax overpayments when they stumble across them, they are really only trained to seek out tax underpayments within a tight time budget. Consequently, they will either totally miss an area of tax overpayments or they will bring one to your attention in passing and expect you to figure out the extent and the scope of it.
We had a firm here recently doing the same type of work.
While we don't have first hand knowledge of how each firm in our industry operates, for the most part, most firms perform a good service. However, from the insight we gain in reviewing their work before we start our review, we often find some areas which haven't been totally exploited or areas which have been totally missed. Consequently, a second opinion often results in additional tax recoveries.
My staff is very busy right now. We can't be spending any time showing a consultant around.
We are so mindful of that aspect of our clients' operations that we made it an integral part of our Mission Statement. Our review can be tailored to your staff’s schedule to avoid peak days, such as payroll, if necessary. When the results of our review are available, you will find that the time taken from your staff was well worth the investment.
If we put a claim through, will it trigger an audit from the Government?
The benefit of a Goods and Services Tax recovery is recognized on your next Goods and Services Tax return subsequent to our review and is not a separate claim. Consequently, the rationale for being chosen for a Goods and Services Tax audit remains unrelated to a Goods and Services Tax recovery. In the case of an Ontario Provincial Sales Tax recovery, while a formal refund application has to be filed to receive the benefit of the overpayments, the Provincial Sales Tax Branch historically reviews a small fraction of the population of taxpayers. If an Ontario Provincial Sales Tax auditor has any questions about your refund application, we are always available to answer them.
When you make a tax recovery, when do you get paid?
We don't expect a payment until you receive the full benefit of the tax recovery in cash or cash equivalent. In the case of an Ontario Provincial Sales Tax recovery, for example, the benefit is not received until you receive the cheque from the Ontario Provincial Sales Tax Branch. In the case of a Goods and Services Tax recovery the benefit is not received until the time when a Goods and Services Tax return is filed where the amount of the payment to the Receiver General is reduced by the amount of the tax recovery.
We have a lot of confidential data in our file.
As is evidenced by the confidentiality clause of our Service Agreement, we are very mindful of the sensitivity of the information that we gather during our review. We understand that some information is sensitive to other employees when it relates to payroll while other information is sensitive to competitors when it relates to sales and costing. We appreciate the trust you put in us.