Québec solidaire (QS) is relaunching the idea of a pre-filled provincial income tax return to simplify the task of the most vulnerable citizens, an avenue tested about 15 years ago, but which has never been followed up .
Posted at 4:02 p.m.
The QS proposal would first target taxpayers living exclusively on government benefits such as social assistance or the solidarity tax credit, before being extended to other citizens.
Revenu Québec would fill in the boxes of the declaration for which it already has information, in particular on the allowances paid, before sending it to the citizen who can then make changes if necessary, explains the deputy for Mercier, Ruba Ghazal.
If everything is in order, no other step would be necessary and the tax return would be considered confirmed after a delay, details QS.
One way to make life easier for people, sometimes illiterate, explains the solidarity spokesperson for taxation.
“Instead of giving them the burden of telling the government what the government has already given them, it will be up to the government to do it. […] For all Quebecers, completing the tax return is often complex and cumbersome, so imagine for these people, “said Ms. Ghazal to The Canadian Press.
She adds that the objective is also to lighten the workload of community organizations, underfunded and at the end of their resources, which support many people in carrying out this annual task.
Some fifty community organizations have been leading the “What’s the report?” campaign for more than two years. asking Quebec to simplify taxation for its poorest citizens. They are also demanding that these people be exempted from filing a tax return and that they receive a direct payment of the financial assistance from the government to which they are entitled.
“This declaration is mandatory to receive tax assistance. However, for people struggling with serious mental or physical health problems, single-parent families in precarious situations, low-income seniors, illiterate people, newcomers or homeless people, the tax return represents useless and oppressive paperwork, ”said Sylvia Bissonnette, coordinator of the Pointe-Saint-Charles Social Assistance Committee, which supports QS’s request, in a press release.
The pre-filled income tax return was the subject of a pilot project in 2007 under the Charest government, which mainly concerned retirees.
Quebecor media reported in 2019 that Revenu Québec had given up on continuing the experiment, in particular because of its “low rate of use”, although satisfaction was there for the majority of participants.
According to Ms. Ghazal, the application of a pre-filled tax declaration for certain categories of citizens would also simplify the work of civil servants, saving them the steps of verification and correction.
“It will reduce the monitoring time, instead of checking if the declaration is completed, they will complete it themselves as they have the information,” she said.
The office of Finance Minister Eric Girard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Canadian Press.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Facebook and The Canadian Press News Fellowships.