What Proportion of Tax Returns Could the Canada Revenue Agency Complete?
Résumé
Résumé
Les personnes à faible revenu qui ne produisent pas de déclaration de revenus au Canada passent à côté de plusieurs avantages importants versés dans le cadre du régime fiscal et peuvent éprouver de la difficulté à vérifier leur admissibilité à d'autres produits et services publics affectés en fonction du revenu. L'Agence du revenu du Canada (ARC) pourrait produire des déclarations simplifiées pour de nombreuses familles à faible revenu, que les déclarants pourraient corriger. D'après la Banque de données administratives longitudinales, les auteurs estiment que cette approche pourrait être utile pour plus de la moitié des familles faisant partie du cinquième le plus bas de la répartition du revenu et de 60 % à 88 des familles qui se prévalent de programmes provinciaux d'aide au revenu. Ils estiment également que jusqu’à 4,6 millions de déclarations des personnes ayant un revenu inférieur à 25 000 $, que l'ARC considère comme simplifiées, ont été produites par un préparateur commercial ou un logiciel, ce qui fait ressortir les avantages potentiels de la production de déclarations déjà remplies par l'ARC dans de telles situations.
Abstract
Low-income individuals who do not file Canadian personal income tax returns miss out on several important benefits delivered through the tax system and may have challenges in verifying eligibility for other income-tested public goods and services. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) could complete simple returns for many low-income families, subject to filer correction. Using the Longitudinal Administrative Databank, we estimate that this approach could be successful for more than half of families in the lowest four ventiles of the population and between 60 and 88 percent of families who rely on provincial income assistance programs. We also estimate that as many as 4.6 million returns for those with income less than $25,000 and that are classified by the CRA as simple have likely involved a commercial tax preparer or software, emphasizing the potential advantage of the CRA providing completed returns in such cases.
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Canadian Public Policy
Volume 50 • Number 3 • September / septembre 2024
Pages: 292 - 310
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Published ahead of print: 23 August 2024
Published in print: September / septembre 2024
Published online: 13 September 2024
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Canadian Public Policy 2024 50:3, 292-310
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