Tax complexity and individual tax compliance costs of the personal income tax in Canada, 1985-2023: a synthesis

This paper presents evidence on the evolution of both the complexity of the personal income tax system and the compliance costs incurred by personal income tax filers(PIT) in Canada. The complexity is measured using three indicators: ;length of federal income tax code(1971-2018), number of federal PIT expenditures(1981-2014) and length of PIT forms (2000-2015) .All three indicators show an increase in complexity. The compliance costs of the PIT are calculated using survey information gathered from individual canadians on time expanded and amount spent the following year for the 1985, 2007, 2018 and 2022 tax filing /calendar years. Our results show a decrease in the PIT compliance costs in hours, in total value and as share of GDP and revenues collected. This drop compliance costs is most likely due to the increasing use of software by tax filers to prepare their tax returns; this allows them, amongst other things, to download information from the Revenue agencies. A tax pain index combining complexity and compliance costs is put forward ; its small growth over time may well explain why increasing tax complexity of the PIT in Canada is apparently well tolerated.

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