Canadian income tax act so complex, ‘virtually no one can understand it’

By Medicine Hat News on April 27, 2018.

Medicine Hat News

OTTAWA

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is reminding Canadians that with only a few days left to the April 30 income tax filing deadline, it may already be too late to try and read the federalIncome Tax Act. That’s because it’s 3,302 pages long — that’s 1,101,499 words — and would take the average reader more than 61 hours to read.

“Over the years, the Income Tax Act has become so long and complex virtually no one can understand it all,” said CTF Federal Director Aaron Wudrick.

First passed in 1917 as a “temporary measure” to help cover the cost of the First World War, Canada’s federal tax law was originally just 11 pages long. By 1948, it had grown to 88 pages. After a series of amendments and reforms in the 1960s, many complained that the 1970 edition, at 424 pages, was too complicated for the average Canadian.

Now at over 1 million words, theIncome Tax Actis about the same length as the entire seven-bookHarry Potterseries, although it is less likely to be made into a blockbuster film series.

“Tax code complexity is very inefficient and increases the cost of compliance,” added Wudrick, “After more than a hundred years, it’s time to work towards a simpler, lower, flatter tax system.”

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