Canada's CF Group Surveys Citizens On Tax System And Tax Evasion

by Lisa Ugur, Tax-news.com, London

08 May 2001

According to a recent survey by market research firm CF Group Inc, 67 per cent of Canadians think that most people are honest and pay all the taxes they should, up from 59 per cent who felt that way in 1995. The CF Group telephone survey of over 1,000 Canadians, aged 18 and over, was conducted between January 15 and 22 this year.

David Stark, public affairs director of CF Group, said in a statement: 'Canadians are somewhat more positive about taxation in Canada now than they were in 1995. The number of Canadians who think that they get good value for the taxes that they pay to governments has increased from 37 per cent in 1995 to 42 per cent today. Recent federal and provincial tax cuts probably have a lot to do with it.'

Nonetheless, a large number of Canadians believe that they are not getting good value for their tax dollars and think that governments squander a lot of the money they get from taxes. And despite many Canadians thinking that most people are honest when it comes to paying tax, some say they would personally evade taxes if they had the opportunity and believed they would not get caught. Of those surveyed, 17 per cent would not report some income on their income tax return.

Mr Stark commented: 'There is a greater sense now that the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (formerly Revenue Canada) has stepped up its efforts to clamp down on tax evasion and the underground economy. In 1995, just over half of Canadians believed that tax evasion had increased between 1990 and 1995. Today, 37 per cent feel that tax evasion has increased over the past five years.'

Over two-thirds of Canadians believe today, as they did in 1995, that if taxes were lower, fewer people would try to evade them. 'While Canadians are largely supportive of the CCRA increasing its efforts to catch people who cheat on their taxes, and they feel somewhat more positive about taxation now than they did in 1995, there is still a sense that the present tax system is basically unfair to average Canadians,' said Mr Stark.

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