VANCOUVER AND OTTAWA, Nov. 21, 2012 /CNW/ - The Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada) today announced its support for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's introduction of the Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012. This legislation proposes to implement a number of outstanding technical tax amendments, including income tax and sales tax amendments.
CGA-Canada has been calling on the federal government to address the growing backlog of unlegislated tax proposals - changes that have either been announced by the Government of Canada or acknowledged through the issuance of a comfort letter, but not yet enacted by Parliament. The last time an income tax technical bill was passed by Parliament was over 11 years ago. In 2009, the Auditor General of Canada found that more than 400 technical changes were needed to the Income Tax Act (ITA) and this backlog negatively affects the clarity of one of the most important pieces of federal legislation.
"By tabling this legislation, the government is taking concrete action to deal with the backlog of unlegislated tax proposals," says Anthony Ariganello, president and CEO of CGA-Canada. "The new bill will provide more certainty to Canadian taxpayers and lessen the burden of compliance."
Some of the measures contained in today's bill were initially proposed as early as 1999, such as the rules applying to foreign investment entities and non-resident trusts. What's more, since 1999 these draft rules have been re-released a number of times and revised by the government, making taxpayers uncertain as to whether to comply with existing rules under the ITA or follow the draft legislation. With unlegislated tax measures, taxpayers and professional accountants must maintain their records and forms - sometimes for years - to be in a position to comply, even without knowing when and if these measures will be approved by Parliament and enacted. This uncertainty and unpredictability places an enormous compliance burden on taxpayers, businesses, professionals and their clients.
CGA-Canada, a leading advocate for tax simplification, reiterates the importance of introducing a sunset mechanism, which would trigger an expiration date for proposed amendments. This would prevent future legislative backlogs and ensure tax proposals are enacted within a reasonable amount of time. In effect, a sunset mechanism would improve the clarity of tax legislation.
CGA-Canada encourages parliamentarians to move expeditiously to adopt this legislation.
Click here for more information on CGA-Canada's position on tax simplification.
ABOUT CGA-CANADA
Founded in 1908, the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada serves 75,000 Certified General Accountants and students in Canada and nearly 100 countries. Respected accounting and financial management professionals, CGAs work in industry, finance, government and public practice. CGA-Canada establishes the designation's certification requirements and professional standards, offers professional development, conducts research and advocacy, and represents CGAs nationally and internationally.
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SOURCE: CGA-Canada
Media Contact:
Diana Sorace
Communications Advisor
CGA-Canada
Telephone: 604-694-6700
Cellular: 604-551-4487
Email: [email protected]
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