Question Period Note: SINGLE TAX RETURN - QUEBEC

Is the Government of Canada willing to work constructively with the province of Quebec to allow its residents to file a single tax return?

• The Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec have a long history of close collaboration. This relationship continues to grow, particularly through exchanging information and sharing best practices.

• The federal government had already committed to discussions with Quebec to find ways of making tax filing easier for taxpayers.

• The Government has previously stated it is not prepared to support a single tax return administered by Quebec. However, the Government is open to working with Quebec to make tax filing easier for taxpayers.

On May 15, 2018, the National Assembly of Quebec adopted the following unanimous motion introduced by Parti Québécois members: “That the National Assembly is calling on the Quebec government and the federal government to implement a single tax report for all Quebec taxpayers, to be filed with Revenu Québec, while preserving Quebec’s fiscal autonomy.”

In January 2019, the Premier of Quebec formally asked the Prime Minister to have the Government of Canada transfer the administration of the federal tax report to the province. Instead, the federal government proposed to work with Quebec to find solutions to simplify the tax return process for taxpayers. This issue has been the subject of sustained media coverage.

Since the federal government indicated that it would not transfer the administration of the federal return to the province and, given the significant considerations that such a transfer would entail, in recent months, the Canada Revenue Agency (Agency) has been seeking solutions to reduce the administrative burden on taxpayers, while maintaining the status quo in terms of administration.

During the 2019 federal election campaign, the Premier of Quebec reiterated the province’s request to administer a single return. On October 22, the media reported that the Premier of Quebec was of the opinion that it was possible to work with the federal government to “find solutions” in this regard.

To help provide client-focused services, the Agency will continue to collaborate with Revenu Québec to assess the opportunities for service improvement in this area, within the limits of its mandate.

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