Public servant devastated over $65K tax slip error

A public servant on maternity leave says her tax slip is incorrect by $65,000 because of the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system, and she doesn’t understand how the government could “mess up so signifigantly.”

Her T4 shows she earned about $5,300 last year, but her actual salary with the federal government was more than $70,000. 

“It was just pure, utter devastation,” she said. “I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience.”

CBC News has agreed to protect the woman’s identity because she fears speaking out about her tax issue could put her job in jeopardy.

Her case is far from isolated, officials announced yesterday. The government is so far e-issuing about 50,000 tax slips to public servants working in Quebec and British Columbia due to two different errors. 

It comes as federal public service unions are marking the one-year anniversary of the rollout of the Phoenix system. An announcement by the unions is expected Thursday afternoon.

Government re-issuing tax slips

Marie Lemay, deputy minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada, said Wednesday that the erroneous R1s and T4s in Quebec and B.C. “will not have an impact on employees.”

Marie Lemay, deputy minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada, says Phoenix is a complex system. (CBC News)

“This issue is being rectified and new slips are also being issued for employees before February 28,” Lemay said at a press conference.

The Conservative critic for PSPC, Kelly McCauley, said the Opposition has to keep putting pressure on Minister Judy Foote “to convince her that this is a serious issue.”

“That this is not something that she can just blow away with talking points,” McCauley told CBC’s Chris Rands. “She needs to deal with this.”

McCauley is encouraging workers with T4 problems to contact their MPs. 

“We’re continually getting calls into our office every week,” he said. “People have been trying for months and months on end to get back pay, to get T4s fixed… We’re here to help and we’re going to do our best.”

Kelly McCauley, the Official Opposition’s PCPS critic, says he’s sorry workers are experiencing issues with their tax slips. (CBC News)

‘It’s shameful’

The woman on maternity leave CBC News interviewed has hired an accountant to deal with her pay mess, but said she’s exhausted and losing hope. 

Her pay problems have been going on for a year now. She spends 30 hours a week on the phone dealing with Phoenix while she’s trying to take care of her newborn.

“It’s shameful. My son is 10 weeks old… I can’t recall a day except for when I had him that I haven’t been fighting these Phoenix issues,” she said. 

The employee has gone from being dramatically overpaid to having the government claw back 100 per cent of her maternity leave as a repayment. 

“It’s stressful. You wonder at what you are going to break or you’re going to be forced into a food bank or handing your keys over to the bank for your house…” she said.  

Canada Revenue Agency has said that even if T4s are incorrect, public servants must still file their taxes on time. The government plans to send CRA amended T4s directly so workers won’t have to re-file their taxes.

The woman said she contacted the pay centre to report her T4 issue, as requested.

Have a story to tell? Contact ashley.burke@cbc.ca.