Privacy Policy
The use of personal information in Canadian commercial activities is protected by federal legislation under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
The PIPEDA establishes a set of principles that organizations must follow when collecting, using and disclosing personal information in the course of commercial activity.
Howland Tax Services is completely committed to these principles.
Howland Tax Services maintains and protects its own database of personal information. All staff members at Howland Tax Services are trained in the appropriate use and protection of that information, and are required to sign a confidentiality agreement. Brad Howland is the designated Privacy Information Officer for Howland Tax Services.
Howland Tax Services will use your personal information only for the purposes outlined below:
- Completion of your personal and corporate income tax returns, and filing them on your behalf if requested and authorized by you to do so;
- Communicating with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or other state or local tax departments on your behalf, but only if you have given us additional authorization to do so by signing the appropriate consent form (in Canada: Form 1013 for individuals, Form RC59 for business);
- Updating our database records as your personal information changes;
- Communicating with you regarding your ongoing tax situation;
- Taking care of ongoing concerns on your behalf with your knowledge and permission; and
- Invoicing you for our tax services.
Howland Tax Services requires you to sign a Privacy Policy and Consent Form, authorizing us to be in possession of the personal information you provide to us, and to use it as indicated above.
Howland Tax Services will only collect the personal information required for the preparation and completion of your income tax returns and the related purposes indicated above. Such information can include, but is not limited to, your name, address, telephone number, gender, social insurance number (SIN), social security number (SSN), and income.
Howland Tax Services will not use your personal information for any other purpose than those indicated above.
Howland Tax Services will update your personal information in our database as such information is provided to us by you.
At Howland Tax Services your personal information is protected from loss or theft and safeguarded from unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. Your personal information is protected in all formats in which it is held. Our security safeguards include the following:
- Physical measures (locked filing cabinets, restricted access to offices, alarm systems);
- Technological tools (passwords and encryption, firewalls, anti-virus and anti-spyware software); and
- Organizational controls (limiting access to a “need-to-know” basis, staff training and confidentiality agreements).
Our Privacy Policy and Consent Form is available to all clients and can be downloaded in pdf format.
Howland Tax Services is committed to informing our clients of this Privacy Policy, and our clients are entitled to verify the accuracy of their information at any time.
Questions regarding our practice and compliance with the privacy principles can be directed to Brad Howland as the designated Privacy Information Officer for Howland Tax Services.