Canada Revenue Agency Shut Down Tax Filing Secure Web Access
Canada Revenue Agency has shut down all access to its secure web server, effective April 8, 2014.
Secure web services affected by this shut down are CRA online services like, EFILE, NETFILE, My Account, My Business Account and Represent a Client.
CRA website state that, April 8, late afternoon, it came to their attention that the software CRA is using to make internet transmission of our data secure is vulnerable to a bug named “Heartbleed Bug” and it was affecting the secure data transmission software worldwide. As a preventive measure, CRA temporarily shut down public access to their online secure services to safeguard the integrity of the information they hold.
USA Canada Border Crossings Will Be Scanned
In my tax practice I deal with many Canadians who are consistently travelling back and forth between Canada and the USA, staying in USA for extended period of time. This creates a big problem, due to the fact for a longer time of stay in USA, you could become a USA tax residence even you are a Canadian citizen. In this case you have to file income tax return both to the USA and Canada.
Clients never seem to figure out, how long they have stayed in USA, since the border authority does not stamp their Canadian Passport. There are specific schedule in the USA tax form to provide your travel information to the IRS, to determine, if you are a primary USA tax residence.
Looks like, things will start to change starting July 1, 2014. Under a new agreement, Canada and U.S. border authorities will now scan your passport when you enter and exit their country to determine how long a person has actually been out of their own country of residence in a given year.
Once U.S. and Canada have access to a travel day count for its citizens, both countries can track a person’s physical presence and use it to apply various immigration and tax laws. more »