An Edmonton man is making his grandmother’s story public, upset that she was told to pay back a portion of her carbon tax rebate – which she received weeks before her husband’s death – due to a marital status change.
Marshall Pagacz said his grandmother Irene has had a difficult two months.
Her husband of 62 years died in mid-January. Then, a short time later, the CRA came calling – asking for $25 back from her rebate.
“It seemed to kind of hit an emotional cord for her,” Pagacz said.
She had received a $150 rebate on January 5, and that came 14 days before her husband’s death.
“Less than a month after the passing of my grandfather the CRA re-assessed her rebate and was asking for $25 back, based on the spouse not being eligible anymore,” Pagacz said. “That’s what the letter was saying.”
It was another thing the grieving widow feels overwhelmed about.
“[My husband’s] pension’s gone, everything’s gone,” she said. “I don’t know how I’m going to survive.”
Pagacz told CTV News the money is not the reason he’s bringing the story forward.
“What I’d like to see out of this is more of a, you know, little bit of a human touch going back to what the tax system is,” Pagacz said.
Alberta’s Finance Minister Joe Ceci called Irene Pagacz to apologize.
“I’m really sorry it happened to her and her situation has helped us understand we can do a better job going forward,” Ceci said.
The minister called the incident an “administrative glitch”.
“We’re going to try to fix this so that it doesn’t happen in the future,” Ceci said.
At this point, it isn’t clear if Pagacz will have to pay back the money.
With files from Amanda Anderson
