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OTTAWA — Almost seven in every 10 callers looking for help from the Canada Revenue Agency are greeted by a busy signal because the lines are overwhelmed, newly released documents show.

Figures tabled in Parliament this week show that in the 2014-15 fiscal year, about one-third of the 60.1 million calls made to the tax agency went through on the first try. The remaining two-thirds, or 40.9 million calls, got a busy signal.

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The CRA’s phone system doesn’t allow every call into the system. When the system is at capacity, callers hear a busy signal, forcing them to make multiple calls.

So far this fiscal year, things have gotten worse.

The data show that of the 12.8 million calls between March 30 and May 1, 2015 — the most recent figures available — a busy signal greeted almost four in every five calls. At that rate, by the end of this fiscal year 59.6 million calls to the CRA won’t be connected right away — or at least be put in the queue to speak to an official.