• CTF opinion poll also finds taxpayers believe federal income taxes are too high and the tax system is too complicated and unfair

OTTAWA - The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released results today of a public opinion poll in advance of Wednesday's midnight deadline for Canadians to file their 2007 income tax returns. The survey was conducted by Praxicus Public Strategies Inc., among 1,000 Canadian adults 18 years-of-age and older. The results are considered accurate to within +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The results are available by clicking here.

When taxpayers were asked "what would you prefer to do" a majority (52%) of those surveyed responded "take a trip to the dentist" and 42% said "complete your own income tax return by hand." The remaining 6% "don't know/refused."

The CTF-commissioned public opinion survey also found:

• 65% of Canadians say federal personal income tax rates are somewhat too high (33%) or much too high (32%);
• 63% of Canadians believe the federal income tax system is too complicated; and
• 57% of Canadians deem the income tax system somewhat unfair (40%) or very unfair (17%).

"This poll indicates Canadians understand the tax code is too complicated, and the system unfair. They also realize income taxes are too high, indeed Canada has the highest personal income tax burden of any G-7 nation, more than even the French and Italians," said CTF federal director John Williamson. "Even when taxes are cut, governments can impose other kinds of burdens. The Conservatives, for example, enacted a series of boutique tax cuts in the 2006 and 2007 budgets. These changes eased the income tax burden for some, but they require taxpayers to tick the appropriate box on the tax form and collect receipts. Failure to do either means paying more tax, hence the need for professional help and additional tax bureaucrats, not to mention a super-size shoebox for all the paperwork."

Williamson concluded, "The purpose of paying taxes is to fund government programs, not support an army of tax collectors. Canadians are required by law to pay taxes. This obligation should not require citizens to pay a professional to determine how much is owed to the taxman. The Conservative government should reform the tax code and move to two federal income tax rates of 15% and 25% as a way to make the system fairer and less complicated. The system should be lower, simpler and flatter."

On January 17, 2008, the CTF released a groundbreaking study urging the federal government to enact a multi-year tax reform/relief plan. The report, entitled Lower, Simpler & Flatter - Towards a Single Tax Rate for Canada, urges Ottawa to reduce personal income taxes and cut the number of tax brackets from four to two while maintaining only a handful of deductions like RRSP, spousal and child allowances. The goal is to both simplify the tax code while lowering the personal income tax burden in a manner that strengthens the Canadian economy.