Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee to present Canada Revenue Agency's main estimates for 2018-19 and to answer any questions that you may have on the associated funding.

As you're aware, the CRA is responsible for the administration of federal and certain provincial and territorial tax programs, as well as for the delivery of a number of benefit payment programs. Each year, the agency collects hundreds of billions of dollars of tax revenue for the Government of Canada and distributes timely and accurate benefit payments to millions of Canadians.

As the minister mentioned earlier, in order to fulfill its mandate in 2018-19, the CRA is seeking a total of $4.2 billion through these main estimates. Of this amount, $3.3 billion requires approval by Parliament, whereas the remaining $0.9 billion represents statutory forecasts that are already approved under separate legislation.

The statutory items include children's special allowance payments, employee benefit plan costs, and, pursuant to section 60 of the Canada Revenue Agency Act, the spending of revenues received for activities administered on behalf of the provinces and other government departments.

These 2018-19 main estimates represent a net increase of $41.8 million, or 1%, when compared with the 2017-18 main estimates authorities.

The largest component of this change is an increase of $89.8 million to implement and administer various measures to crack down on tax evasion and combat tax avoidance. This represents the incremental 2018-19 funding for measures announced in budget 2016 and budget 2017. The majority of these resources will fund new GST/HST measures aimed at preventing tax evasion and improving tax compliance, the expansion of existing compliance and verification measures, and the expansion of business intelligence activities and improved strategies that promote enhanced compliance.

The CRA is currently on track to meet the incremental revenue-generating commitments associated with these measures.

Other increases to the agency's budget include $11.8 million to support the introduction of a new tax regime related to the legalization of cannabis, including adjustments to our systems. The funding will also be used to start processing early licence applications, so that cultivators and manufacturers are authorized to provide legal cannabis on the implementation date.

These increases are partially offset by a $21.5-million reduction in statutory contributions to employee benefit plans, and in the forecast of cost recovery revenues, pursuant to section 60 of the CRA Act, for initiatives administered on behalf of provinces and other government departments; a $17.1-million adjustment associated with changes in the funding profile for the various measures announced in previous federal budgets; a $16.2-million adjustment related to accommodation and real property services provided by Public Services and Procurement Canada; and finally, a $5-million reduction in forecasted payments under the Children’s Special Allowances Act.

It should be noted that CRA's 2018-19 main estimates do no reflect incremental resources for the announcements made by the Minister of Finance in the February 2018 budget. The funding required for the implementation and administration of these measures is currently being evaluated and will be presented to Treasury Board ministers through formal submissions in the coming months.

In closing, the resources being requested through these estimates will allow the CRA to continue to deliver on its mandate to Canadians by making it easier for the vast majority of taxpayers who want to pay their taxes and more difficult for the small minority who do not, and by ensuring that Canadians have ready access to the information they need about taxes and benefits.

Mr. Chair, at this time we'd be pleased to respond to any questions you may have.

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