Calgary senior frustrated by lack of paper tax forms receives 'overwhelming' response after CBC story

A Calgary senior saysshe was left feeling like a criminal and worriedabout financial fallout after failing to find paper copies of the forms needed to file her taxes on time.

That was, until she went public with her plight and was overwhelmed by the response from neighbours, perfect strangers and the Canada Revenue Agency, itself all offering to help.

Malaney Ellingson, 69, says in years past, she's been able to get the taxforms from her local post office, but when she went there in mid-March, she was told they had run out.

"The postal people would say, 'We got some in, they lasted 20 minutes and they were gone, but just keep coming back because we've ordered another box,'" Ellingson told CBC News.

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"So we would keep going back and they were always gone. Right down until the day I had to file, I've been going to postal outlets looking for the forms. All I received was one guidebook, that's all there was."

Ellingson says she reached out to the Canada Revenue Agencey (CRA) on April 3, asking for the forms, and was told it would take several weeks for themto arrive.

And with the forms not arriving by the May 1 deadline, Ellingson figured she'd have to pay a professional to have her taxes completed, which is onerous given her financial state.

Seniors who haven't filed taxes don't receive some government benefit payments.

"I'm a senior, I live on very limited income," she said.

"That's going to cost me my grocery money, to have my taxes done, and I think that's unfair. I don't know if Revenue Canada realizes this or not, but us seniors, we don't all have the little computer ... so we can'te-file our taxes. And even if we did, we wouldn't know how to do it."

Ellingson said she was also upset when she contacted Revenue Canada another time to check on the status of the formsand was told to ask someone for help at her local library.

"You know what, that's very personal information and for me to set that down at the library and have it printed out on a printer that I have to walk a ways to get, I don't feel comfortable doing that. It's time for them to realize they're public servants and I'm a piece of the public."

Response after CBC story

Ellingsonsaid everything changed in a hurry Friday morning, after her story aired on CBC radio and appeared online.

She's since had offers of support from people willing to give her their own tax forms, print online forms for her, or even do her taxesfree of charge.

"It's just overwhelming," she said.

"I have four sheets of paper in front of me with names and numbers on them and offers."

One of those calls was from a CRA employee who confirmed the agency had received Ellingson'srequest for paper tax forms and assured her that she wouldn't be penalized for a late return.

"She said, 'I'm going to take care of your tax form personally so that it's not deemed late.'"

It's a good feeling. Trust me. It's an awesome feeling.- Malaney Ellingson

The CRA also responded Friday afternoon to theCBC'searlier request for comment and confirmed it was reaching out to Ellingson.

"The CRA is an increasingly client-focused agency that exists to serve Canadians and we are currently overhauling our service model so that people who interact with us feel like valued clients, not just taxpayers," spokesperson Lise Newton said in an email.

Ellingson said she's enormously relieved and her anxiety is gone.

"It's taken that right off my shoulders," she said.

"It's a good feeling. Trust me. It's an awesome feeling."

'We like to have something we can touch'

Kevin Schilling, a certified financial planner in Calgary, saidEllingson's experience is far from unique aspaper tax forms are still in high demand butincreasingly rare.

"Sometimes you can get them [at a post office]but usually they go pretty quick and then they're gone," he said.

He said he understands the CRA's goal of reducing administrative costs by cutting down on paper but he, too, still prefers to have a hard copy of his tax documents.

"For seniors or old fogeys and I'm getting up there we like to have something we can touch or we can open up without turning the computer on," he said.

There are options for seniors having a hard time getting their taxes done on time.

Luanne Whitmarsh, CEO of the Kerby Centre a resource centre for seniors says they helped more than 3,000 older adults in Calgary file returns this year, and they had paper forms available.

But she conceded finding paper copies is getting harder.

"People get used to having their services and needs being met in a particular way and when that changes it causes some disruption in people's lives," she said.