Forget winter, spring, summer and fall, Canada has three real seasons:
hockey, construction and tax time. Thankfully, April 30th represents the
end of the season known as tax time. This year 23 million Canadians will
file tax returns and some 15 million of us will actually end up as
bonafide taxpayers. But first, the silver lining of the tax time cloud.

More than 1.8 million Canadians will file over the Internet using
Netfile, up from 1.4 million in 2001. If you're expecting a refund, it
will be direct-deposited into your account in about 10 days as opposed
to the traditional six-week wait if your cheque is coming in the mail.

The average refund this year, according to the Canada Customs and
Revenue Agency (CCRA), is $1,120. But this isn't a windfall, it simply
means you paid too much tax in the first place. Seeking better tax
planning and financial advice now will ensure that you keep this money
for yourself in the future and put it to more productive and immediate use.

Taxpayers should also know that, even if they owe the taxman money, they
should file before the April 30th deadline. If you owe money, interest
at the rate of 6%, compounded daily kicks in on May 1st. If you fail to
file by April 30th, it gets worse. Not only will you be slapped with a
5% late filing fee, a 1% charge on your balance owing will also
accumulate monthly to a maximum of 12%. If you wait to file your 2001
tax return until April 2003, you will owe 17% interest on top of taxes
payable. And unlike interest you pay on a loan, this interest is not tax
deductible.

Is it usury? Yes. Does this enter the world of sky-high credit card
rates charged by banks? Absolutely. While income taxes, CPP and EI taxes
are taken by compulsion off of our paycheques, as a taxpayer you do have
a choice whether to pay these interest rates: Just file on time.

If CCRA owes you money, the interest rate is 4% and it doesn't kick
until June 15th, 45 days after the tax filing deadline. To add insult to
injury, as noted tax expert Arthur Drache points out, any interest paid
by CCRA to you must be reported as income on your tax return the
following year.

Tax time also prompts many to ask: how much am I really paying, what
value do I get for my tax dollar and why can't Ottawa and the provinces
do better with less?

According to the Fraser Institute, your family pays 49.6% of its income
in taxes and fees to all levels of government. Ottawa collects the
lion's share at 65%, the provinces suck up another 30%, and city hall is
left with the last 5%.

As for the value question, this depends on your view of the role of
government. The CTF believes there is a great deal of wasteful spending.
Right off the top $4 billion each year of Ottawa's tax haul is earmarked
for grants, loans and subsidies to Canadian businesses, more commonly
referred to as corporate welfare.

The Auditor General has also pointed out that at least $13 billion of
the annual federal tax take is for "discretionary" program spending.
Along with corporate welfare, think HRDC boondoggles and regional
development schemes that perpetuate a destructive cycle of handout
dependency when considering this $13 billion figure.

As for doing more with less, yes it is possible. For fiscal year
2001/2002, Ottawa will probably post an $8.5 billion surplus of
over-taxation once all in and out accounts have been closed. Is this a
lot of money? Yes. If you had a dollar for every second of your life
that ticked by starting now, it would take 31 years, 8 months and 16
days just to reach $1 billion.

One final thought, our American friends celebrated tax freedom day (the
day they start working for themselves) this past weekend. For us, it's
still two months away ... oh yeah, happy tax deadline day.