SR&ED Report Still Has Relevance, Russ Roberts Says
Russ Roberts, Sr. VP of Advocacy, CATAAlliance has published a video about SR&ED Dispute Resolution Advocacy. He cites the Final SR&ED Report by Paul Daniel Muller, consultant to the the Minister of National Revenue, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, dated 30 November 2009, about his review of the SR&ED Program and the CRA’s action plan, “CRA Action Plan on Consultant’s Recommendations for the SR&ED program”, dated 2013-01-22.
As Russ says in the video, SR&ED is an incentive program, and it needs to be managed that way.
The report was obtained through an Access to Information request to the Department of Finance. It recommends the CRA redesign its dispute resolution process so that claimants can have access to a Second Technical Review (STR), and that the STR is performed by an independent qualified reviewer.
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?
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.” – Russ Roberts, Sr. VP, Advocacy, CATAAlliance on SR&ED Dispute Resolution Advocacy
The report was written in 2009. The Minister of Revenue at the time found the report was significant and worthy of sharing for an open discussion with SR&ED stakeholders and the community. Subsequent ministers have chosen not release the report….and the CATA is asking why.