Accountants from the ROC are being restricted from servicing Quebec tax clients.

Last year, Quebec introduced new barriers and limitations on out of province accountants equitable and warranted? All accountants performing serves for the MRQ are now being limited to in province office locations. You are now required to have a physical office location in the province itself or assume the additional costs of going through another in province organization to obtain the Quebec Netfile transmission code to have the privilege to be able to Efile returns to the MRQ.

All provinces currently limit accountants who can perform audits & reviews in their province to those who are registered in the respective provinces.

Now, MRQ (Quebec) has gone a step further by limiting accountants who can serve Quebec tax clients (thus limiting the market to Quebec accountants only) to those with physical offices (with an NEQ) and addresses in it’s own province (or is it country?). Those accountants located within Quebec will be indifferent to this new rule but those near the border with Ontario and New Brunswick may think otherwise. Some will say that is a good thing since many accountants don’t even want to do the extra returns and work, or even have the knowledge to prepare Quebec returns, or even want the additional complications involved with Quebec tax preparation. Other accountants however, have developed that expertise over the years and are now being deprived of that market for bureaucratic reason and would welcome the usual or additional business.

In any case, other provinces have not developed or applied the same regulations to protect their own provincial accountants. Basically, Quebec has more powers and it’s own Netfiling system that allows it to limit access to it’s market. Should the other provinces consider leveling the playing field?

Your comments and thoughts on the situation are most welcome.

Thank you / Merci.

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