According to Golombek, managing director of tax and estate planning at CIBC Private Wealth, each year, Canadians are obliged to disclose CRA numbers that are already published on T4 and other tax forms, which are the agency’s Already have.
Citizens of many OECD countries already have a tax agency settlement system, which eliminates the need for them to file their own taxes. Estonia, Chile, Spain and the Nordic countries are among the nations with national taxation departments that generate returns immediately using existing tax forms. To improve or record revenue from self-employment, citizens only need to fill out a form by hand.
According to Jennifer Robson, tax policy expert and associate professor at Carleton University, such a system could help many individuals in Canada, especially those who have difficulty meeting their taxes.
A 2020 research study by Carleton University public policy professors Robson and Saul Schwartz estimated that 10 to 12% of working-age individuals in Canada, many of whom live in poverty, do not file taxes.
In a 2017 focus group study conducted by the CRA, some of the barriers non-filers experience in tax filing include a lack of understanding of the benefits of filing and a lack of knowledge about how to file. Others noted in the survey included lack of access to technology and lack of competency in English or French.
