TELEFILE - File Taxes by Phone

If you have a simple Canadian income tax return, you may be able to file your income taxes by phone, for free. The TELEFILE service accepts basic income tax information, such as employment income, pension income, interest income and registered pension plan contributions.

To file using TELEFILE you complete your income tax return using the forms and schedules in your income tax package. You then call a toll-free number using a touchtone phone, and follow the instructions, using the telephone key pad to enter your income tax information.

The TELEFILE service is open from February 14, 2011 to September 30, 2011. Your 2010 income taxes are still due by midnight May 2, 2011. (Since the regular deadline of April 30 falls on a Saturday in 2011, returns are due the next business day.)

With TELEFILE you'll get an immediate confirmation that your return has been received, and the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) claims you'll get a faster refund, possibly within two weeks.

You may be able to use TELEFILE if: you received a T1 Special, T1S-A or T1S-C form, or the package for computer software users who would otherwise have received one of those forms you are filing an income tax return as a wage earner, student, senior, or simply for credits and benefits your taxes are simple, and you are filing basic income, deduction and credit amounts.

You can not use TELEFILE if: you are filing income taxes for the first time you are filing more complex tax information such as self-employment earnings, capital gains or rental income.

To use TELEFILE you need a personalized four-digit access code.

Check the income tax package sent to you to see if you received a TELEFILE access code. If you did not receive a TELEFILE access code, and feel your tax situation is very simple, then call the Help Desk toll-free at 1-800-714-7257.

Before you start, have your completed income tax return and schedules, your Social Insurance Number and your TELEFILE access code handy. If applicable, you will also need the Social Insurance Number for your spouse or common-law partner and his or her net income. During the hours of service, use a touchtone phone to dial the toll-free TELEFILE phone number 1-800-959-1110 from inside Canada or the continental United States. Follow the instructions, and enter your income tax information using the telephone keypad. Confirm that you wish to file the information as your tax return. Wait to receive the confirmation number and write it down. The confirmation number indicates that your return has been filed and should be kept with your income tax records.

See also: 6 Ways to File Your Canadian Income Taxes

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Government Phone Books

If you work in government, with government, or are trying to track down information on government programs and services in Canada, some of the most useful reference tools are government phone books. You can find out a lot more than just government employees and their phone numbers. You can often get a good handle on the organizational structure of different government departments, find out who is working on what and where they fit in the hierarchy.

We all have access to much of that information, and to those officials, now that most government phone directories are online. The federal government and all the provincial and territory governments in Canada, with the exception of Manitoba, Quebec and Nunavut, now have their government employee directories online. Manitoba and Nunavut have online directories with frequently called numbers.

The style, organization and scope of these telephone directories varies a great deal. Most make it very easy to find individual employees, their phone and fax numbers, and their office addresses. Gradually email addresses are being added. Many supply job titles and some form of link back to the relevant department or agency. PEI is a good example. Some, like Ontario, offer a method for browsing through the government organization structure. Others, like Saskatchewan, provide an list of frequently called numbers. These lists are especially useful if you're trying to find the department responsible for a particular service.

The best of the lot, however, is the Government of Newfoundland Telephone Directory. You can search using a number of different fields, browse through the government organization structure, get a quick list of frequently called numbers, find a list of Newfoundland government fax numbers and tie in to other related directories. It's updated monthly too.

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9/11 families to meet with FBI over phone hacking

 News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch released apology ads in British newspapers on Sunday.A meeting date has not been set, an attorney representing 9/11 families saysFamily members requested the meeting after the FBI began an investigationRelatives say they have no knowledge or evidence of phone hackingMurdoch says he doesn't think 9/11 victims, families were phone-hacking victims

(CNN) -- Relatives of 9/11 victims will meet with the U.S. attorney general and other Justice Department officials to discuss allegations that a newspaper owned by News Corp. targeted phone conversations and voice mails of victims of the 2001 terrorist attack, a lawyer representing family members said.

Attorney Norman Siegel said no date has been set for the meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder and other officials, which family members requested after the FBI launched an investigation into News Corp. last week.

The FBI's investigation began after a British tabloid reported that the company's employees or associates may have attempted to hack into phone conversations and voice mail boxes of September 11 survivors, victims and their families, a federal law enforcement source told CNN on Thursday.

The story in the Mirror -- a British tabloid that includes a section it describes as "gossip gone toxic" -- cited an unnamed source who claimed the now-defunct News of the World newspaper approached a private investigator in New York to hack into 9/11 phone records, but he declined to do so.

The meeting will not deal exclusively with the alleged phone hacking, but other issues of ongoing concern to 9/11 families, Siegel told CNN.

"We're extremely pleased. We look forward to cooperating with the Justice Department and the FBI in their investigation," he said.

In a letter requesting the meeting, Siegel said family members would give authorities permission to examine their phone records and look for possible evidence of hacking. But he added later that he is not sure every family is prepared immediately to sign authorizations to turn over records, if the families are asked to do so.

He said no family members have knowledge or evidence that their records were searched. However, he said one family has questions about an e-mail "potentially" being hacked. He provided no further details.

One family member -- Jim Riches, who lost his firefighter son on 9/11 -- said he thought it was "great the government is being open and honest and will let us know what's going on."

But Riches, a retired New York Fire Department deputy chief and chairman of 9/11 Parents & Families of Firefighters & WTC Victims, said he doesn't expect specifics of what the FBI may be learning in its investigation.

"I expect broad brush strokes and the Justice Department to let us know what they intend to do.... And let us know if there's any validity to the allegations," Riches added.

News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch told British lawmakers Tuesday that he had seen "no evidence" that victims of the 9/11 attacks were victims of phone hacking by his employees, adding that he does not believe it happened.

News of the World, a 168-year-old British newspaper owned by Murdoch, folded on July 10 in the wake of accusations that its reporters illegally eavesdropped on the phone messages of murder and terrorism victims, politicians and celebrities.

Police in the United Kingdom have identified almost 4,000 potential targets of phone hacking.

There also were allegations that reporters may have bribed law enforcement officers.

Quoting : CNN.com