The Harper Government is taking action to support Canadian businesses

Ottawa, Ontario, December 4, 2012… The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue, today highlighted many of the important steps the Harper Government is taking to ensure Canadian businesses can continue to thrive under Canada’s tax system at the Certified General Accountants (CGA) Summit on Tax Simplification.

Minister Shea reiterated the Harper Government’s commitment to red tape reduction. In particular, the Minister outlined what the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is doing to make sure its action plans are carried out to meet the needs of businesses, including providing more business-friendly online services, more access to easy-to-understand information, and giving priority to consulting with small businesses across Canada to get their views on what changes are most important to them.

“A recent study has ranked Canada as having one of the ten most efficient tax systems in the world. Our Government is committed to building on this success, and continuing our efforts,” said Minister Shea. “By implementing the recommendations in the Red Tape Reduction Action Plan, and working to simplify the tax code through the Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012 we will continue to build a tax system that creates jobs and economic growth.”

“CGA-Canada has been a leading voice in the growing call for tax simplification in Canada,” said Anthony Ariganello, president and CEO of CGA-Canada. “Today we welcome Minister Shea’s contributions, among others, to our first-ever summit on tax simplification and look forward to identifying ways in which we can improve Canada’s tax system.”

The Minister also highlighted the importance of recent legislative amendments being proposed under the Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012, which would make some tax measures simpler, permanent, and more predictable for businesses.