Alberta couple fighting the CRA after being asked to repay $33K in COVID benefits

Alberta couple Daria Skibington-Roffel, left, and Ron Roffel, seen in this undated handout photo, are being asked to repay the CRA around $33,000 in COVID supports. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Daria Skibington-Roffel and Ron Roffel (Mandatory Credit)

OTTAWA — An Alberta couple says Canada’s tax agency is trying to recoup tens of thousands of dollars in COVID supports, years after the claims were cleared.

Daria Skibington-Roffel said she signed up to receive benefit payments throughout the pandemic after her work hours were reduced. She saw that she was eligible for the funds while filling out a federal questionnaire.

She said she’s now on the hook to repay the agency roughly $33,000 — a sum she said she and her husband can’t afford.

The Canada Revenue Agency said last month it’s working to recover more than $10 billion in COVID-19 benefits, both from overpayments or from individuals receiving benefits without being eligible.

The CRA takes “firm and responsible” measures against those who seek to avoid paying outstanding amounts, agency spokesperson Nina Ioussoupova said.

“If it is determined that a taxpayer has the ability to pay their debt in full and it remains unpaid without an acceptable payment arrangement, the CRA may take legal action to recover the debt,” she said.

“This includes offsetting refunds and future credits, garnisheeing wages or other sources of income, or using any other means under applicable laws or regulations to recover an outstanding amount.”

Skibington-Roffel said she works part-time due to chronic health issues and is the official caregiver for her husband, Ron Roffel, who is retired and disabled.

She said she received several benefits during the pandemic, including the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, or CERB, and the Canada Recovery Benefit.

“We needed the money and for the first time ever, we were actually able to pay all the bills every month instead of sacrificing one for another every month,” said Skibington-Roffel.

Skibington-Roffel said that in 2021, she noticed she didn’t get her tax return, which she typically uses to pay her property taxes. She said that after calling the CRA to ask what was happening, she was told she didn’t qualify for CERB because her income was too high and she worked too many hours. She was also told that she owed the government $14,000.

After spending two years fighting the claim, Skibington-Roffel said she received a letter indicating she also didn’t qualify for other COVID benefits and that she actually owed around $50,000.

Skibington-Roffel said the balance has since dropped by more than $10,000 as the CRA has withheld years of tax refunds and rebates, including caregiver rebates.

Skibington-Roffel, who has filed two failed appeals, said she’s been fighting the CRA because she was eligible for the money, according to the agency’s own website application forms.

“I was hardly making enough to live on and that’s what that benefit’s supposed to be for,” she said. “My hours were cut and my salary was cut.”

The Airdrie, Alta., couple said they’ve had to take out loans to pay their bills and property taxes. They also said the loss of funds almost led to them losing their home twice.

Ron Roffel said the low-income threshold disqualified many Canadians, including his spouse, from being eligible for COVID benefits. The couple argued the low-income threshold for eligibility was changed during the process.

The Canadian Press has contacted the CRA for more information but has yet to receive a response.

Ron Roffel said the low-income threshold is “unrealistic” and the CRA’s decision to withhold his wife’s tax refunds and benefits “put us deeper into the poor house.”

“This has been a huge stress for my husband and me, obviously, because we just don’t have enough money between us to pay for anything right now,” said Skibington-Roffel, adding she makes just over $30,000 a year.

“We’ve had to go into debt and we’re probably going to have to either go insolvent or bankrupt again just because of this.

“I claimed a benefit and I would do it again. I filled out all their little questionnaires and their calculator things and all that stuff and we were eligible, so I don’t know what can be done.”

Ioussoupova said that as of Nov. 30, the CRA had disbursed $83.5 billion in COVID benefits to Canadians, including $45.3 billion for CERB.

As of Nov. 30, Ioussoupova said, close to 1.4 million people have repaid approximately $3.3 billion in debts related to individual COVID-19 benefits.

Skibington-Roffel said she and her husband are calling for the CRA to stop clawing back their funds and to pay them back what’s been taken.

“We could live like human beings for a couple of years and now we’re being forced to live in worse conditions just because we took a benefit that we were eligible for,” she said.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press