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Canadian accountants petition CRA for tax deadline extension

TORONTO, Apr. 18, 2021 – More than 50,000 taxpayers and tax preparers have signed a petition on Change.org pleading with the Canadian government for an extension of the April 30 tax filing deadline for T1 personal income tax returns. According to the petition, “the current worsening situation with the pandemic across our country is creating an unprecedented strain on the resources of tax preparers and many believe that they will not be able to comply with the April 30 filing deadline.” 

Hugh Woolley, an independent income tax consultant with Lewis & Company Chartered Professional Accountants in Vancouver, began the petition one week ago. According to Woolley and the thousands of Canadian accountants who have signed the petition to date, the situation is dire for a variety of reasons. Many accounting practitioners — especially female practitioners, who are typically tasked with childcare responsibilities or caring for family members affected by the COVID-19 virus and its variants — say they will be unable to make the April 30 deadline without penalty.