Do I need to come to your office?
No, though you are welcome to: we have offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE. Documents move through a secure portal, and meetings can be in person or by video, arranged around your time zone. Clients in the Gulf, India, Europe and across North America all work with us the same way.
Does it matter which of your offices handles my file?
No. The same named reviewer signs off, the same authorisation is filed with the tax authorities, and the same fixed fee is agreed in writing before any work starts.
What does authorising a representative with the CRA actually let an advisor see?
It lets the authorised representative view assessments, information slips and instalment records directly through the CRA's own systems, rather than relying entirely on what the client can locate and forward. Direct access is usually where discrepancies between what was filed and what the CRA actually has on record are first found.
Does authorising a representative give them the ability to file on the client's behalf, or only to view information?
The level of authorisation can be set to cover viewing information only, or extended to allow filing and other actions, so the specific scope granted matters — a client authorising a representative should confirm which level of access is actually being requested for the work involved.
How long does an authorisation with the CRA remain active?
An authorisation generally remains in place until it is cancelled or expires under the CRA's own rules, rather than needing to be renewed for every single interaction, which is why confirming an old authorisation is still active — or cancelling one that is no longer needed — is worth checking periodically.
Why would discrepancies between a client's own records and the CRA's records matter enough to authorise a representative just to check?
Because a client's own copies of notices, slips and instalment records can be incomplete or outdated, while the CRA's own systems hold the authoritative version — a mismatch between the two is often the first sign of a missing filing, an unrecorded payment, or an assessment the client never received, none of which surface without direct access.
What is double tax relief and how is it given?
Three mechanisms, and which one you get depends on your residence country's law and the treaty. Exemption leaves the foreign income out of the residence-country base. Credit taxes it and then subtracts the foreign tax, capped at the residence-country tax on that income. Deduction merely reduces taxable income by the foreign tax, and is usually the weakest. Canada and the United States lead with credit; several treaties give exemption for specific income types. See claiming the credit.
Which country do I pay tax to first?
Generally the source country — where the income arises — taxes first, often by withholding before you receive it. Your country of residence then taxes the same income and credits what the source country took. That order is why timing matters: a residence-country return filed before the source-country tax is settled has nothing to credit yet. Getting the sequence right is most of the work. See international tax planning.
