Taking on the taxman

>> Michael Katz is disabled. His psychiatrist says so. But Revenue Canada disagrees

By PHILIP PREVILLE

When Michael Katz received his Notice of Assessment in the mail from Revenue Canada a few weeks ago, he couldn't believe his eyes. The letter said that, for the years 1993 to 1997, Katz owed the government $4,703.21 in unpaid taxes.

He had expected a letter telling him that the government owed him money. Because he has a learning disability, Katz had claimed the tax credit for disabled Canadians. He had enclosed all the required documents, including the certificate signed by his psychiatrist, who wrote that his condition "has indeed impaired his ability to think, perceive and remember... which has prevented him from functioning in an ordinary working environment."

Revenue Canada, however, disagreed with his psychiatrist's professional diagnosis. As far as they were concerned, Katz was not--and is not--disabled. And without that tax credit, Katz' tax bill fell into the red.

For Katz, it was the icing on the cake. The whole reason he stopped paying taxes back in 1993 was to protest the government's treatment of disabled Canadians. His protest landed him in tax court in January; in March, he finally bent under the legal pressure and told the court he would file his tax returns.

In other words, Katz had already agreed to eat crow. He didn't expect them to make him eat shit. "They'll let the Bronfmans evade $700-million in tax payments," says Katz, "but they won't give the disabled a break."

Eight-year battle

Michael Katz's case is a tricky one. If you ever met him on the street, you wouldn't think he was disabled--at least not at first. He has an acute form of Attention Deficit Disorder: his memory skills are very poor, and he has a "hearing processing problem," which is to say that he has difficulty assimilating information.

Though born with the condition, Katz wasn't properly diagnosed until the 1980s and wasn't placed on medication until 1997, at the age of 42, after years of tribulations trying to find a job.

Meanwhile, for the last eight years, Katz has been waging war with the government over its treatment of the disabled. Since the Liberals came to power, the number of disabled people hired by the federal public service has been on a steady decline--from 1.68 per cent of all new hires in 1993 to 1.11 per cent in 1997. Since the public service hires thousands of Canadians every year, the decline translated into hundreds of fewer jobs for people with disabilities. Katz decided to take action: he publicized those figures far and wide, went on hunger strikes, wrote to politicians, and stopped paying his taxes--all in defence of disabled people's right to a fair shake.

Conundrum in court

Sadly, it was Katz's appearance in tax court that did him in. He was able to get himself to and from the courthouse; he understood everything that was going on; he was clearly able to handle the basic demands of everyday life. He seemed perfectly employable, not disabled in the least. Why should he get a tax credit?

"The fact that someone has a learning disability doesn't automatically entitle them to the tax credit," says Pauline Mentha, director of the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada. "The credit was originally intended for the bedridden." Besides, says Mentha, if the disabled are fighting for equality, they can't go around asking for tax credits. "What people really need is help finding a job, and employers willing to accommodate special needs."

Which is Katz's point exactly. "I've developed mechanisms to cope with my disability," he explains. "I can be productive in certain jobs, provided I'm not in a noisy, crowded space." For example, Katz says he needs an office where he can close the door. But office space is expensive; employers would rather cram three desks together in a corner than "waste" it all on a single employee.

It's a cruel irony: Katz never wanted to claim that tax credit in the first place. What he really wanted was some real job opportunities, for himself and other disabled people. "The disabled don't get jobs, they get tax credits," he says. "They have wheelchair access to buildings, but they're unlikely to ever obtain a job in those buildings. What's the point?

"The disabled need to become a political force, or nothing will ever truly change."