Canadians are dealing with a tax system that is becoming more complicated than 20 years ago, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“Canadian families and businesses incur significant costs to comply with the tax system including time and direct spending on accountants, lawyers and computer software packages. A key factor driving these costs is the complexity of our tax system,” said Charles Lammam, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Measuring Tax Complexity in Canada.
For example, Canada’s printed tax laws now take up 62 per cent more space than they did in the 1990s. Ontario’s federal personal income tax guide from 2001 – 2011 increased 25 per cent. Court cases regarding the Goods and Services Tax legislation grew from 320 cases in 1993 to 499 cases in 2011. From 1991 to 2011, the number of personal income tax expenditures increased from 105 to 123. Corporate tax expenditure cases increased from 48 to 64. 
“What’s clear is that all indicators point to an increase in federal tax complexity for Canadian families, businesses and even governments A worthwhile goal is to simplify the tax system, making it easier to understand and less expensive in time and money. Lammam said.
A flat tax is a tax system means that taxes at given a uniform rate on household income, regardless of income level. A couple of benefits for the flat tax system is that it is more simple and eliminates double taxation. The disadvantage of this system is that poor people pay more taxes in proportion to their incomes while rich people pay significantly less.
Some countries that have the flat tax rate system include Belize, Greenland, Hungary, Mongolia, Jamaica, Ukraine and Bolivia. Alberta is the only province that has a flat rate system. Some countries have recently reintroduced flat taxes, hoping to boost their economic growth. Australia, Panama and Poland are considering a flat tax system.