Totally in favor of simplifying tax declarations, including merging our two levels of declaration (provincial and federal). For information, the pre-filled declaration has also existed in France since 2006, a country that is nevertheless reputed to be particularly bureaucratic.
So agree! I do the taxes for the family and it’s a stress every year to forget something or to be unsure of doing things right… and I work in the financial sector, with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. I have a lot of sympathy for people who don’t have the literacy to understand tax jargon.
In 2017, an Australian friend showed me how he logged into his tax return through his bank, looked at his pre-filled return and just had to click to accept it! Why do we live in the Middle Ages?
The federal government is already struggling to pay its civil servants, if in addition it is asked to file our tax returns, so here I am crying “help”. There is a limit to centralization.
Yes Yes Yes ! The first time I filed my income tax return in Quebec, I was amazed at the colossal task it entailed. Why so complex when it could be so much easier? When I left my home country of Sweden in 2005, I received my pre-filled declaration in the mail, spent two minutes checking the data and sent the confirmation back with a text! 20 years ago ! Hardly anyone in Sweden, except the very wealthy and entrepreneurs, needs an accountant.
I agree 100% with the idea of ​​having a pre-filled tax return. So much money and energy saved.
Our governments should provide this service to all Canadians. Our tax returns are overly complicated… even accountants are losing their minds. Automate all that paperwork ASAP.
As a Chartered Professional Accountant who has to prepare income tax returns, I have wanted for several years that the returns be filled out automatically and that the preliminary notice of assessment be issued. I have a few mentally challenged and vulnerable clients for whom this service would be very effective. Why make it complicated when you can be so simple and efficient for less?
Several years ago, the Supreme Court of Canada declared that the taxpayer has the right to take all legal means necessary to pay as little tax as possible. As for the state, it aims quite the opposite. Therefore, would there be a conflict of interest in the state filing the tax returns of its taxpayers itself?
Saving time and money! I hope this will be in place for the next tax filing.
That people stop relying on others, especially the government, and take charge of filing their tax returns. They have no problem buying Christmas gifts, Easter eggs, dinners at the restaurant… but they don’t have time to go and do their tax return once a year!
I am French and I have been living in Quebec for two years. On my first declaration, I was amazed at the complexity of the declaration of simple income (two salaries). I bought software on the advice of a neighbour: it was a waste of time, the complexity remains. Eventually, I hired the services of an accountant who relieved me of $180. I would have liked so much to be accompanied for my first declaration by the tax services…
Totally agree that the taxes are pre-filled by the government and that we just add costs of which it is not aware (sports and cultural activities of children, medical expenses, RRSP, etc.). Every year, it’s a real headache to collect all the documents and send them to the accountant. Not to mention that money is still coming out of our pockets for said accountant.
As a SAIPB (Income Tax Assistance Service, Volunteer Program) volunteer, I wholeheartedly agree with Ms. Grammond’s wish about taxes that could (easily) be done on their own.
The only downside is, for now at least, the lack of coordination between the federal and provincial levels. Again, this “damn” Quebec is different from other provinces and we have to file two returns instead of one like in the rest of Canada.
For several years now, the federal government has been offering a telephone program, by invitation, to people who have a simple return and a modest income, to complete a tax return. But here it is: it only offers the federal declaration.
Many low-income people, who make up the majority of our clientele, do not understand, or very little, that we have to file two returns in Quebec. The few people who accept the federal government’s invitation are happy to be able to make their statement over the phone in five minutes. In July, when they do not receive their solidarity check from Quebec, they come to see us, the volunteers, for explanations. So, we complete the provincial declaration for them, but, as they are late, it causes significant delays in receiving their first solidarity check. For many people, that check of around $100 a month is essential in order to meet month-end requirements.
When will there be real federal-provincial collaboration? The SAIPB program takes care of both declarations, well done! If we arrive at an automated program, we would also have to think, for Quebec, of two declarations and not just one as the federal government has been doing for several years.
