Did you hear about the new Disability Advisory Committee (DAC)? Don’t sweat! The government is not cutting back on your tax credits. Minister of National Revenue, Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, pledged to reinstate the committee in November, and has now announced the members. The mandate of the DAC is to ensure fair and consistent benefits to all Disability Tax Credit applicants.
What prompted this move? The diabetic community noted a great percentage of rejected applications. After much investigation, an internal memo was blamed for increased rejection. The memo stated that under normal circumstances, a diabetic can monitor his blood sugar and insulin in under 14 hours per week. In truth, no change was made to CRA policy. These applications will now be reviewed.
“I have confidence that the expertise of the Committee members will help the CRA better serve Canadians who need and deserve our assistance. Reviewing life-sustaining therapy applicants will provide an added level of certainty that the law has been applied correctly and will allow the Committee to take a broader perspective on its important work.” –Honourable Diane Lebouthillier
The DAC has a number of goals. Committee members, which include health, tax and law professionals and representatives of the disability community, will advise the CRA on how to standardize the granting of applications and how to make the DTC more accessible to everyone who needs it. Let us work together to benefit the most vulnerable of our citizens. Thank you, Canada!