A Calgary couple who took their story to Go Public is finally off the hook for an $18,000 tax bill.
After seeing the CBC's story, a major accounting firm took on their case pro bono and won.
"We were thrilled to get this letter allowing us to finally put this behind us," Elise Britton wrote in an email to CBC News.
In November 2014, Elise and husband Edwin Britton contacted Go Public after receiving the hefty tax bill. At the time, the Canada Revenue Agency questioned their Canadian residency after the family went to China on a two-year contract to teach English.
A 'simple matter'
Edwin Britton said they are grateful to Thang Trieu, a tax lawyer with KPMG, for taking on the case, but still frustrated it took so long for Canada's tax agency to make a decision.
"It was a very simple matter actually. And the regulations were clear enough that I was able to understand them after 15 minutes of research. So a lot of time and resources have been spent that could have been easily resolved in the first day with a phone call," he said.
Since there was no charge for KPMG's services, Britton said he doesn't know exactly what the legal action would have cost if they'd had to pay out of pocket, but estimates it would be about $60,000 — more than triple the amount of the tax bill.
"It begs the question to whether the CRA thought we would just pay their assessment rather than going through the extent of hiring a lawyer to do it," Britton said. "Because KPMG offered to do it pro bono, it became possible for us to pursue the matter without it being ridiculous financially."
'Cavalier' judgments
He plans to raise the issue with his MP, hoping for "more accountability" on the part of the CRA.
"We were really pleased and felt fortunate because I think this happens to other people too, but only a few people have the opportunity to have media expose it like we did. I hope it does other people some good too by having CRA think twice before being so cavalier with their judgments," he said.
The Brittons are looking forward to moving on.
"We can't say enough good about KPMG, but without your coverage from Go Public we would not have had the advantage of their help. Thank you so much for your very large part in our happy ending," Elise Britton said in an email.