Canada’s Certified General Accountants recommend that the government simplify Canada’s tax system, stay the course on its economic action plan, and manage the debt.

CGA-Canada’s three-point plan was presented by to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, hearing submissions Tuesday in Vancouver as part of its 2009 pre-budget consultations.

In its submission, CGA-Canada maintains that a simple, transparent and fair system of taxation with low, internationally competitive rates is integral to economic recovery and growth in Canada. CGA-Canada is recommending that the government appoint a panel of independent experts to make sure Canada has the most efficient and competitive tax regime. It is a recommendation the association has made in the past, most clearly in a letter to the chair of the finance committee in June 2008.

“Canada’s Income Tax Act has grown over the years to become unwieldy and complex,” says Anthony Ariganello, CGA-Canada’s president and CEO. “A simplified tax system means ease of compliance for taxpayers, less red tape for business, lower administrative costs for government, and a stronger system with more predictable revenue.”

In response to the finance committee’s questions on the government’s stimulus measures, CGA-Canada recommends that the government’s economic action plan should be allowed to run its full course. At the same time, barriers to interprovincial trade and labour mobility should be eliminated and a common securities regulator should be created.

The association’s third recommendation is that the government should pay attention to debt management, keep a watchful eye over its expenditures and remain accountable to Canadians.

IE