Before giving you the actual letter, let me give you the backround. The year my third child was born, 2009, was the second year we used an accountant to do our taxes. Our accountant is great, we discovered stuff we could have been claiming for years that we had no idea about (yahoo retroactive refunds!). Unfortunately, on the forms for 2009, though, he omitted to indicate that we had welcomed a new baby to the family that year. As a result, we have never received the Canada Child Tax Credit for Faith. I started the application process some months ago, never thinking that it would be an arduous process. Along with the application form I sent in Faith's Declaration of Birth and copies of both my husband and my birth certificates. Should be sufficient, right? Wrong.
Dear Mme. Picard,
Let me preface my comments below by stating clearly that I recognize that you are not personally responsible for the regulations you are employed to enforce and that I do not mean in any way to criticize you or your work personally.
I realize that it is necessary for the CRA to prevent fraud as much as possible and I do appreciate this, as we pay our taxes honestly, fairly and fully and it drives us a little crazy to think of the many people & corporations that get away with shortchanging the government and therefore the citizens of Canada. That being said, I find the requirement for three documents providing evidence that I am the primary caregiver to my daughter Faith to be somewhat extreme and even in a sense, discriminatory.
Given that my husband and I chose to marry, rather live common-law, we have accepted a certain amount of discriminatory treatment under the tax codes of both our province and our Nation. Then we had the audacity to decide to make the lifestyle sacrifices necessary so that I could leave the world of paid work and stay home to raise our children. This has, once again, negatively affected us under taxation laws.
I now find that I am required even to prove that I am the primary caregiver of my third child before I can collect the (much appreciated) tax benefit allocated to us by the Conservative government of Canada. As stated, I am a stay-at-home mother. There is no nursery school or other school authority to whom I can appeal for proof of my active child rearing. I could, in fact argue that the primary nature of my responsibility for the care of my child is attested to by the lack of such “schooling”.
My youngest daughter Faith is not yet 2 years old at the time of this writing and we do not belong to any children’s club. Although I enrolled in a variety of classes/activities with my first and even second child, this poor baby suffers from “third child syndrome” and has not been enrolled in any classes for herself. You will find enclosed the best I can provide by way of attestation from official parties at the West Island Women’s Centre to the fact that I am, indeed, raising my daughter Faith, and she does live with my husband and myself.
My husband happens to be a lawyer. Should he provide a letter certifying that we are happily married, reside at the same address and that I am most certainly the primary caregiver due to his long hours of work?
My family attends a church that is Brethren based and is guided by Elders, not a minister or priest. I have, however, enclosed such documentation of our intact family unit as I am able to provide and hope that this will suffice.
Also enclosed is a letter from my children’s pediatrician who is concerned about signing such statements as these lest they be used as ammunition if there is a nasty divorce sometime down the road. She therefore refuses to indicate that one parent is the primary caretaker. As I am concerned that this will be insufficient for the Canada Revenue Agency, I have included a statement from my Nurse Practitioner, attesting to my role as primary caregiver to my daughter.
I sincerely hope that the evidence provided is suitable for the CRA to determine that I am, in fact, primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of my daughter Faith. If further proof is necessary, please feel free to drop in unannounced anytime and witness my fatigued self and the obvious evidence of a toddler’s full time presence in the home, which is strewn about the living room no matter how often I pick up.
Best regards,
