Repo-Man is not helping Revenue Canada's public relations image after the IRS-style raid on the Rosenberg family. Only months before Revenue Canada morphs into the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA), the Winnipeg home invasion explains why some people have misgivings about the new super-tax agency about to be hatched.

The new agency will administer Canada's tax laws and collect tax revenues on behalf of federal and participating provincial and territorial governments. Ottawa claims consolidating federal and provincial tax collection will save government and taxpayers time, money and paperwork. No harm in that. But what will keep the agency in check and prevent it from mutating into a power unto itself, trampling over the rights of taxpayers

The image of tax storm-troopers coming through the door to rummage through your family's property and load it up on a truck does not inspire a sense of security. It's enough to spur the 'one world government' fanatics into building mortar walls around their homes. Ludicrous as that may seem, perhaps ordinary Canadians are not paranoid enough.

Canadians should be alarmed that state enforcement powers will be transferred from the Revenue Canada "Department", that is accountable to Parliament, to the Canada Customs and Revenue "Agency", answerable only to a parliamentary committee.

However heavy handed their actions were in the Rosenberg case, Revenue Canada is legislated with enforcement powers. Revenue Canada officials can seize assets and property, freeze bank accounts, and garnishee wages. These enforcement powers should be closely monitored by our politicians and not handed blindly to an arm's length agency accountable only to bureaucrats.

As a safeguard, Reform MP Jason Kenney proposed a Taxpayers' Bill of Rights to protect Canadians from the potential of arbitrary, unfair and abusive treatment by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. The law would also create an Office for Taxpayer Protection, an independent taxpayer advocate who would report to Parliament, not unlike the Auditor General.

"It is important that Canadians never be subjected to the abuses of power that have made the IRS the most feared institution in the United States. A Taxpayers' Bill of Rights would be an important safeguard against potential abuses," said Mr. Kenney.

The Rosenberg house raid may have ushered in a new Machiavellian era of tax collection and a new modus operandi: "Better to be feared than loved." With the underground economy growing at an alarming rate, tax officials will undoubtedly try to unearth as much undeclared taxes as possible.

Earlier this year, Auditor General Denis Desautels reported that federal and provincial governments lose an estimated $12 billion a year to tax cheats across all sectors of the underground economy. In the wake of the report, Revenue Canada committed to an advertising and communications campaign to enlighten Canadians on tax evasion.

Whether it's a feel-good public relations offensive or an IRS-style search and seizure operation, the carrot and stick approach to tax disputes misses the point that our complicated tax structure and offensively high tax rates breed confusion and disobedience. Nothing short of a massive overhaul of the tax structure toward simplification and fairness, and a full blast reduction to our high income tax rates will restore the public's confidence and trust in the tax system.