Dedicated
to Advocacy, Awareness , Education and Assistance for those living with
Diabetes
The Disability Tax Credit...Our Story
|
Getting Around: Disability Tax Credit Disability Tax Credit Tips Disability Tax Credit Sample Letters Please contact us with your questions or comments ![]() |
For those who want to hear the latest....
It was suggested that I
share our ongoing story of our request for the Disability Tax Credit so
here it is. Please remember that this is "our story" and reflects only
our feelings, experiences, and beliefs while going through this
process...
Contact your MP or any MP that you may know
who has a personal interest in this disease and ask for their help.
January 2, 2005 Last week we received a sum of money from CRA. Based on the amount deposited, I can only assume it reflects the tax year we fought for and nothing more. I am having to wait for further information until the holidays have ended. In the meantime, the Technical Advisory Committee
has made a key recommendation regarding life sustaining therapy. I have
encouraged anyone interested in this issue to write to their MP and the
Ministers of National Revenue and Finance.
We MUST have them
implement Recommendation 2.5 which asks that CRA follow the guidelines
established both in the informal Tax Court rulings and the CDA, ADA, and
CMA guidelines on therapy for Type 1 Diabetes.
Please write your MP. Have your friends write. Have your support group
write. This is our big chance to see real change!! Is it just me??? I think that there might be a conspiracy going on here. We have been waiting to see adjustments made to our other tax years after winning our case for 2002. Upon further investigation, CRA noted Liam's condition only started in January 2002 not March 2000 as the T2201 stated. Despite the fact that it is standard practice to make adjustments to tax returns made after the judgment, nothing more had been done with our case. When they denied our claims they were quick to send reassessments for every tax year from 2000 on. When we win our decision and our Judgment states that my son does receive Life Sustaining Therapy in accordance with Section 118, we only get the money from that one year. Oh my nerves!! Obviously the issue is being looked into and hopefully will be resolved soon. I am hoping that I am the exception and not the rule. I have never seen a case handled as our's has so there is still hope for everyone else. In the meantime, I am still writing letters and encouraging others to do the same thing. We must maintain pressure on the government and see Recommendation 2.5 accepted. CRA MUST have to follow the guidelines repeatedly set in the courts. February 3, 2005 Well, it appears that as far as CRA is concerned our case is basically closed. They do not feel that they owe us anything for the years 2000 and 2001 because we won our case with a court judgment. They interpret the legislation to state that we are therefore not entitled to the DTC for previous years. As for the 2003 tax year? We will have to reapply for the DTC for that and subsequent years. What??? I am at a loss. They stated in our Consent to Judgment " ....meets the requirements of paragraph 118.3(1)(a.1) of the Income Tax Act and, consequently the Appellant is entitled to claim the Disability Tax Credit in respect of..." Why did he meet the requirements for only one year? Was there a cure that I missed? Did I make a mistake and these sleepless nights of testing, going to school, combating a week of lows after adjusting for a week of highs, are all just a dream? Does my son no longer have a life-threatening chronic illness? I think not. I guess its back to the drawing board. The war rages on but we won't give up. We will win. February 5, 2005 We are quickly working to gather cases to prove that CRA is wrong in their interpretation of the tax law. I truly hope that the situation that we are facing is unique. I can't believe that we would have a government that would regularly put their people through such duress. February 13, 2005 CRA has changed its mind and has given us the DTC for the years 2002-2012. They will not allow our applications for 2000 and 2001. We will still have to look at either going back to Tax Court or applying to the Minister for assistance on this matter. And so the battle rages on..... February 20, 2005 On Friday we received a phone call from a gentleman from CRA in Ottawa. Who specifically he is has yet to be determined. He told my husband that he was a senior official but basically told me that he was just an employee. He called while I was at school dosing Liam's insulin. My husband told him that he would have to discuss the issue with me. Later that afternoon the two of us connected. He explained to me that he was following up on one of my letters to my MP, Minister of Justice, etc. He then told me that he had referred my case on to the DTC unit in Ottawa for further review of the 2000 and 2001 tax years. They were holding firm that we were not entitled. According to this gentleman, the Consent to Judgment was worded wrong and did not entitle us to any further compensation for previous years. He stated that the Consent to Judgment only allowed 2002-2012. Now we know that that part is not right. The Judgment states that we are allowed no further compensation beyond 2002. That is standard. It reads the same as two other Judgments that I had in front of me. I read them to him, asked him the difference, but he said that they were different cases. Okay, I moved on. Our Consent to Judgment didn't entitle us to 2003-2012. We had to argue with CRA to get them to implement that. They wanted to send us back through the system for each year. I stated that our next options were then to either seek a new judgment from the Minister or go back to Tax Court? He agreed stating that we have a very good case but going to court would be very costly. I informed him that its not about cost. It is the principal and the fact that no one should be dealing with what we are. This must stop. He asked to be able to close our case. To state that he had looked into things for us and had contacted us. I told him that was fine. How frustrating these people can be!!! The only thing that our Consent to Judgment has that is "unique" is the fact that it specifically states that Liam requires Life Sustaining Therapy in accordance with the act. I pray our case is unique in its treatment because this is too frustrating to deal with if you don't have a vast and incredible support network standing behind you. I thank you all for providing that to me! February 25, 2005 Thank you to everyone who wrote, petitioned, and emailed!! We have done it!! We truly have won the war against CRA!! I am still floating in the clouds! I now know that a few people truly can make a difference There are still many small battles to be won--including our own battle to receive the credit for 2000 and 2001, but the main war is won! WE HAVE DONE IT!! April 12, 2005 "The
Canadian Diabetes Association argued strongly that it is the insulin First I must again preface that this is simply my opinion. It is my feelings and reflect nothing else. I do not mean to discredit or disrespect any person or organization. This is simply how I feel about this issue.... This press release really bothers me. It could simply be because I was up most of the night dealing with my 7 year-old's hypoglycemia and am overtired and therefore over-sensitive. I hope that is not the case. I am truly offended that the Canadian Diabetes Association has stepped in at the very last minute and is now claiming that they are basically responsible for the changes we are seeing in the DTC right now. They are not acknowledging the families that took CRA to court and fought for their rights. They are not acknowledging the many family and friends who gathered together through this organization and lobbied government for change. As a dear friend pointed out, who said life was fair? So true! This feels like the house painter stepping forward and taking the credit for a beautifully built home. Yes, he played an important part but it was just one part. The entire project belongs to the group not just one person (or in this case organization). When I first began this battle, I contacted my provincial office of the Canadian Diabetes Association. They informed me that they did not agree with the Disability Tax Credit being used by people with Type 1 Diabetes and could not be of assistance. What changed their minds?? I wish I knew. Maybe a nap will clear it up for me! Good blood glucose levels to all! I am currently trying to wrap my mind around whether or not I will take further issue on this with the author of the release. If you have an opinion or thoughts on what should be done now and in the future, please contact me. April 15, 2005 Let me again preface that comments made on this page are simply mine. They reflect my own feelings and opinions and nothing more. That being said... I have had a few days to calm down a little and have received a lot of feedback on the above "CDA Issue". Thank you so much for the kind support so many of you have offered. A few days after this mess began, a reporter called and interviewed me about my particular case. He didn't ask about my role with Diabetes Advocacy or the work that we had done regarding the DTC. It was simply a personal story. After the article ran, I emailed him and made a few comments. He had of course contacted the Canadian Diabetes Association for their take on the issue and we know what they had to say. In my follow up email, I told him my version of how the pending changes came to be. He noted that when speaking with the CDA, they did not seem nearly as knowledgeable about the issue as I was. I wonder if that could be because one of us has actually dedicated a lot of time and energy to the issue and the other has stepped up at the end? Okay, that is probably a little catty and very petty but ..... Oh well, as many of you indicated, those who count know who worked for this. Those who count know who is working to see change. Those who count are working along side of me and together we will see a lot more changes for adults and children living with the horrible disease they call Type One Diabetes. Thank you all again from the bottom of my heart!! You keep me motivated and on track. April 27, 2005 The CDA has since apologized for appearing to take credit for work begun by me. In later releases, I do feel that they were more specific in stating that they have been brought on board by the federal government to help clarify how the DTC will or should be applied to those living with Type 1 Diabetes. As we both have a common goal--seeing financial help for those living with Type 1 diabetes, we have agreed in principal to work together on this issue May 20, 2005 We have sent in our Notice of Objection regarding the 2000 and 2001 tax years. I am sure that they will reject our arguments--I don't see why as we made wonderful, sound legal arguments but this is CRA so what can you say! We will continue with the process and see where it takes us. If it takes us back to court, we are ready to go that route as well. I have never watched federal politics as closely as I have over the past 6 months. I held my breath yesterday as I listened intently to every vote being cast. My son asked why I cared about the budget. I explained that I had $35million and a lot of work riding on this budget and I desperately wanted to see it pass. I am sure you all joined me in that collective sigh when it made it through again. I will not rest until it is law and CRA is properly applying it to Type 1 cases, but we are successfully through one more hoop! The CDA partnership seems to be working. They are keeping me in the loop and hopefully that means that I am able to keep you as up to date as possible as well. August 2005: We are still awaiting to hear a ruling on the years 2000 and 2001. Our case is currently before the Fairness Committee. We hope that they will in fact deliver a fair decision on our case. September 7, 2005: We have since received a letter stating that our case is again under review by their medical experts. The insanity continues! November 1, 2005: We have been denied again but are looking at our chances of being heard in Tax Court again. The battle rages on! November 18, 2005: We have received notification that our case will be heard. We will now begin the process of preparing to take the fairness issue to court. November 30, 2005 One step forward and thirty steps back! In my personal case, the Tax Court of Canada has agreed to hear the issue that the CRA's refusal of our 2000 and 2001 tax year goes against their own Fairness legislation. The step forward, I was told that all children applying, under the age of 15, regardless of insulin regimen will currently qualify for the DTC. That is great news but they still just don't get it! They don't want carb counting. They don't want adults. They just don't want to understand what Type 1 diabetes really is!! They don't want to part with our money! I am so frustrated right now, I can't see straight. I just don't know what do to. I feel like we are worse than back at square one. We are now negative a few steps! December 20,
2005 We have received our notice from Tax Court. We had
requested a change of venue and appointed my angel here on Earth to be
our agent. They have granted both requests. Now we wait to see what
sort of trouble we stir in 2006! The government is slow. The insanity
is overwhelming but somehow we still plow through right? Thanks to those
angels who pick us up and keep us kicking!!
February 20, 2006 Its funny, I am looking back at how long our story as been ongoing and its no wonder I am tired and want to just bang my head against a wall for awhile!! This month's latest has the Tax Court's wondering why this issue was not dealt with by the Fairness Division of CRA. Funny, but we wondered the same thing!! Round and round we go! Right now we are waiting to see what documentation CRA has on our case to date. We had asked that the Fairness Division review our case back in the spring or early summer!! We got the standard rejection letter one gets with an initial application and therefore moved on to the Court avenue. No wonder people give up!! They try so hard to wear you down! Its insane!! April 3, 2006 Our story has yet to end. On a positive note, we have seen CRA begin to accept that children with Type 1 diabetes do take more than 14 hours per week in order to administer Life Sustaining Therapy. They have also agreed to allow adults with a doctor's letter to receive the credit. We have made tremendous victories on a national level. On a personal level, CRA officials continue to deny our claim to the years 2000 and 2001. The biggest irony, had they have allowed our credit, we would be entitled to a maximum of $3000. The time and money they have spent denying us to date must be at least ten times that amount!! Oh well, we will continue to fight until all our avenues have been explored and denied. We are going back to Tax Court! November 18, 2005: We have received notification that our case will be heard. We will now begin the process of preparing to take the fairness issue to court. February 20, 2006: A letter from the Tax Court suggests that this should have been handled by the Fairness Division of CRA. March 1, 2006: As we do not yet have all of our documents back regarding how CRA handled our case when we asked it be presented to the Fairness Division, we have been granted an adjournment beyond our March 6th court date. July 14, 2006 We have heard from the local CRA office. Once again our request under the Fairness review has been denied. The reason that the request was denied is because of the policy CRA has adopted not to allow the DTC prior to 2004. We will keep plugging on and hoping for the best!! October 6, 2006 Our fight is officially over. CRA will no budge on our case. To proceed would mean the involvement of high priced lawyers. We are now officially done. We have been unfairly treated but we have caused a lot of change. For that we will be forever grateful--that remains my biggest victory. That was my goal when I began this journey. I will continue to ensure that the standards we have fought for will be maintained.
Advertisement If you enjoy the work of Diabetes Advocacy and the information presented on this site, please consider supporting our efforts through your purchases of diabetes awareness and medical items from our Online Store. |
This
site does not supply clinical treatment information or medical advice. The
editor of this site is NOT a medical professional.
Any advice or information you may receive through this website or our
mailing lists is not guaranteed and should always be discussed with your
health care provider . All links are provided for your convenience
and further do not signify any endorsement on our behalf.
Last updated November 27, 2010