Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 7, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press tuesday november 7, 2006 the tax Saviour a7 Why people fail to collect their tax credit people get what they pay for when they hire a tax Filer to do their income tax returns warns the president of the Manitoba tax practitioners association. You have tax companies out there offering to do tax returns for $24.95,? said Terry Halligan. How much service can you get at that Price these Are High volume Low priced offices. They have to put through As Many people As possible he said. To do a tax return properly filers have to sit Down and talk with clients and ask them about their circumstances and about other family members said crusaders continued from Page a6 there Are so Many legislation that people Don to implement when a family member is sick. So thousands of Poten tial monies Are not claimed Scott said. Until she and Dmyterko came along. Scott believes they Are the Only ones specializing in income tax services for disabled people. Their partnership is Bre Matson and associates an amal Gam of her two sons names with a son suffix. The partners employ two tax accountants and fully anticipate having to expand. They Are As shocked As anyone at the volume of business. Its unbelievable said Scott 41. I never in a Mil lion years thought this Little Home business would come to this. My main goal was to stay Home and be a Why Are so Many people not getting disability tax refunds its a Combina Tion of things. Either people doing their taxes at Home Arent aware of it or they go to a tax Filer who is not specialized in these areas she said. The disability tax credit dec has been around since 1986, but people Don to know about it Don to realize Halligan. Halligan in to surprised that Many peo ple Are missing out on the disability tax credit dec. Docs Are difficult to inter pret and Revenue Canada requires that people go through reams of red tape he said. Some people miss out simply because they Don to have a regular doctor to authorize their history with a disability he said. Also some people take offence when a tax Filer asks probing questions about their health and the health of other family members living at Home he said. Ing with a person 65 years or older usually a Parent is eligible for the caregiver tax credit. But More troubling Bre Matson & associates say is 0that about half their business is from people who hired tax preparers and still did to receive the dec or did to receive their entire dec refund. Scott also sees cases where tax preparers claim the disability tax credit for the current year but Don to search a persons history to look for missed refunds. Dmyterko believes tax filers avoid claiming docs because they Are com plex open to interpretation As to eligibility and time consuming. The first time filing for a dec takes three to six months and no one wants to bother with it he said. Added Scott i be also heard believe it or not profession Al accountants i be had Many people Tell me this Tell clients they have to be practically comatose to be eligible doctor that they Are very hard to absolutely wrong. You do not have to be disabled to such a degree that you can no longer work. Legislation states that a persons daily activity must be affected by problems with sight hear ing speaking thinking and perceiving mobility feed ing or dressing oneself or going to the bathroom. Eligi get docs i think government should publicize docs More and make it easier for doctors to fill out the forms and make it easier for a person in a nursing Home to Transfer a disability tax credit to another family member said Halli Gan who operates three or franchises in Winnipeg. Scott and Dmyterko Don to just fill out forms. A big part of Scott a service is follow up phone Calls to Revenue Canada. She knows from experience How to navigate her Way through the Bureau Cracy. That was her Job for eight years As Treasury Board special assistant problem solving and mediating Dis Putes Between companies or individuals and Federal government departments like Revenue Canada veterans affairs and human resources. She would even Fly to Ottawa occasionally. I have experience with government departments and i know How to talk to government officials without being demeaning said Scott who has a degree in economics from the univer sity of Winnipeg. About 90 per cent of Bre Matson & associates business is disability tax credits. The partners work on a Contin gency basis. They collect no fee unless there is a refund and then they get 20 per cent of the refund. One Independent tax preparer said 20 per cent is fair adding that even a 25 per cent Contin gency fee would not be out of line in today a marketplace. For Scott it seems like her purpose in life is to advocate for the ,.? if i a going to help people this business is the Best Way because people Are scared of Revenue Canada she said. How does the average per son know How find All this information docs at a glance. Who is eligible the disability tax credit dec applies to people who have a physical or mental impairment they were born with like Spina Bifid Down syndrome or suffered like a bad car Accident or developed through their course of life like cancer. What does Revenue Canada consider physical or mental impairment impairments must markedly restrict a person meaning even when you Are using the appropriate therapy medication or devices All or substantially All the time the person still cannot function As a Normal per son or can but it takes an inordinate amount of for example you May suffer with bad arthritis in your Knees and it takes you longer to walk 100 metres than a person without arthritis. What areas does the dec cover the tax credit covers impairment to walking dressing speaking hearing feeding elimination Bowel or Blad Der functions or mental functions necessary for everyday life. How much Are credits Worth to the average Filer clients of Bre Matson & associates receive a refund of about $3,000 per year said partner Steve Dmyterko. What if you have no income and Don to pay tax if you pay no tax there is no tax to refund. A tax credit Only reduces taxes payable. However people can take advantage of docs by transferring them to another family member who has income particularly a spouse. What about life sustaining therapy a person must need life sustaining therapy for a vital function at least three times a week for an average of at least 14 hours per week to be Eli Gible for a dec. Examples of such illnesses Are kid Ney dialysis to filter blood and insulin therapy to treat Type 1 Dia betes in a child who cannot independently adjust the insulin dosage. To find the right information and know How to interpret it Scott questions whether it should be that Way. Its sad in our society that so Many disabled people Don to receive proper financial assistance. I never thought it was like Bre Matson & associates can be reached at 282-5147. i never in a million years thought this Little Home business would come to this ? Susana Scott they qualify or Don to fill out forms properly. They also have to go through a lot of red tape. Claimants require a t2201 form then a doctor to authorize it. Many doctors fill them out wrong. The partners had to Send one form Back to a doctor three times before he filled it out correctly. Some doctors charge $10 to $50 to fill them out. After All the t2201 is 12 pages Long. Forms have to be filled out exactly or the claim is rejected. People also tend to not know about additional caregiver tax credits when a family member they live with is approved for a dec. Or they May not know that any person 18 or older Liv ability also applies to people who Are confined to a bed or wheelchair or who Are under a drug regiment like for dialysis. Terry Halligan president of the Manitoba tax practitioners association conceded there Are probably tax filers who Arent obtaining docs for eligible clients. The problem May be with High vol ume discount Price tax filers where the Filer does to know the client has a disabled spouse or child living with them and May not ask he said. But Halligan maintained there Are also systemic problems trying to get through All the government hoops to ;