Student Faces $11,000 Bank Account Garnishment Over a Disputed Tax Amount

You do everything right. You go to school, get excellent grades, qualify for scholarships – it seems like you’re on the fast track to success. Then CRA pops up and issues an $11,000 bank account garnishment that financially cripples you. This was the case with Heather Gilberds, a PHD student at Carleton University.

In May of this past year, Yahoo Finance Canada published an article about Ms. Gilberds and the actions that ensued at a result of the initial issue. According the Yahoo Finance article:

1.      Ms. Gilberds received more than $45,000 in scholarships in 2010 – this should have been tax free as Ms. Gilberds was a full-time student.

2.      Ms. Gilberds used a tax filing service to file her returns and unbeknownst to Ms. Gilberds they filed the wrong forms for at least three tax years. This led to a re-assessment to CRA of over $11,000.00.

3.      Since this time, Ms. Gilberds has been back and forth with CRA and the tax preparation company she used to prepare the returns.

While Ms. Gilberds was under the impression that the returns were being investigated/re-assessed, CRA collections came along and issued a Requirement to Pay, which is essentially a bank account garnishment, seizing the $11,000.00 that was alleged to have been owed.

According to the article, Ms. Gilberds is not seeking to obtain representation to deal with her problem with CRA which is what thousands of taxpayers involved with CRA do each year.  In Ms. Gilberds’ case she was possibly gtrying to preserve her cash after $11,000.00 was taken. Here is the issue: no matter the dispute, unless you have filed an Objection or your matter is before the court, CRA will continue to pursue you to collect unpaid tax debts. This can include a wage garnishment, contacting your business’ customers to pay directly to CRA (called a Requirement to Pay), freezing your bank account, placing a lien on your home and much, much more.

All without a warning or a hearing.  Any other creditors would need a court order.  Not CRA.

When a CRA problem flares up, it is best to disclose as little as possible to them and seek representation not by tax preparers, but by a company that specializes in dealing with CRA problems. You can access the full Yahoo Finance article here https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/ottawa-student-says-cra-took-11k-her-unjustifiably-155317677.html.

If the CRA has frozen your bank account, or if you are currently dealing with any kind of collection and enforcement action from CRA, call Tax Solutions Canada today to find out about how to get back on solid ground: 1-888-868-1400.