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Response to the article “The forgotten project of tax reform”

As the taxpayers’ ombudsperson, I read with interest the article “The forgotten project of tax reform.” I agree that the need for tax reform is a nonpartisan issue. I would also point out the positive impact that tax reform could have for everyday taxpayers.

For example, a simpler tax system would help the public better understand their filing obligations. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has the difficult task of making complex and lengthy legislation understandable for the average person.

However, as noted in our office’s 2024-2025 annual report, the content the CRA publishes on Canada.ca can sometimes be unclear, unavailable or hard to find. This is in no small part because of the complexity of Canada’s tax system. Streamlining the system would make the task of educating the public about their filing obligations exponentially easier.

If a full overhaul of the tax system is too daunting, introducing automatic tax filing would be an excellent alternative.

Our 2024-2025 annual report also analyzes how simplifying the filing process can increase filing rates and help vulnerable people get the benefits and credits they are legally entitled to.

Introducing an automatic filing system beyond the CRA’s SimpleFile suite of services could remove some of the barriers that the tax system’s complexity creates, and it wouldn’t take a full overhaul of the system to do it.

We have to remember that, fundamentally, tax policies and consequently the law are there to serve Canadians. Whatever changes happen in the future, lawmakers and policy advisors should not forget this.