Path: utzoo!mnetor!geac!yunexus!maccs!cs3b3aj
From: cs3b3aj@maccs.McMaster.CA (Stephen M. Dunn)
Newsgroups: can.general
Subject: Re: A question about computers and tax
Summary: RevCan doesn't always give the right answers
Keywords: business, personal, RevCan
Message-ID: <2482@maccs.McMaster.CA>
Date: 21 Apr 89 04:01:59 GMT
References: <2364@maccs.McMaster.CA> <1152@apss.apss.ab.ca>
Reply-To: cs3b3aj@maccs.UUCP (Stephen M. Dunn)
Distribution: can
Organization: McMaster U., Hamilton, Ont., Can.
Lines: 28

In article <1152@apss.apss.ab.ca> jhp@apss.ab.ca (Herb Presley, Planning Officer   ) writes:
>Why doesn't your friend call Revenue Canada for a ruling on his question, or
>at the very least, advice on whether or not it is permissable.  I've seen a lot
>of questions about income tax rules that are posted to this and other Canadian
>Nets that could be resolved with a simple phonecall to R.C.

   Yeah, you're right about this to a certain extent, and you're right that
erroneous information could be posted (although, since we do have a tax
lawyer whose name escapes me right now reading all of these articles, errors
would get corrected quickly).

   However, as the summary says, RevCan screws up sometimes.  Every year,
the Toronto Star newspaper puts together a panel of tax experts (CAs, tax
lawyers, etc.) and they come up with 15 or 20 personal income tax questions
ranging from some pretty simple things to some more complex questions.  In
most years, RevCan got 50-75% right (I think); this year, however, they got
something like 70% of the questions wrong!  Of course, a survey of this
limited size (and the questioning method perhaps - anonymous reporters
called the RevCan help lines with the questions) is far from being a
definitive measurement of RevCan's tax advice accuracy, but it is scary.

   Anyway, thanx for the message ... I'll pass it along to him.

-- 
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! Stephen M. Dunn, cs3b3aj@maccs.McMaster.CA ! DISCLAIMER:           !
! This space left unintentionally blank - vi ! I'm only an undergrad !
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