Full text of today’s Throne Speech for those who—like me—get a weird thrill from this stuff. https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/campaigns/speech-throne/2020/stronger-resilient-canada.html

The most interesting line?

“The Government will also work to introduce free, automatic tax filing for simple returns to ensure citizens receive the benefits they need."

Tax policy, understandbly, elicits a groan from most people. But, if true, this proposal could be truly life changing for thousands if not millions of Canadians.

As someone who has spent the better part of a year learning about tax policy, I can attest that the simple act of filing taxes is one of the most costly barriers to low-income Canadians.

Every year, and especially in light of COVID, our government unveils new tax credits or social assistance programs to those considered modest or low-income.

The problem? To claim these benefits earmarked for you, you must file taxes yearly.

That can be a challenge for so many reasons: if you’re a newcomer, experiencing homelessness, can’t afford to pay to file them, or have simply never filed taxes before.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, many, many nations automatically file their citizens’ taxes for them yearly.

The CRA is more than capable of doing this—with political will, of course. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/03/the-10-second-tax-return/475899/

Millions of dollars goes unclaimed each year because of our “opt-in” system. The simple act of filing taxes once can literally unlock tens of thousands of dollars for low-income Canadians and their families.

By changing tax policy, we can lift people out of poverty.

Anyway—I encourage you to read the throne speech and care about tax policy. It’s more important than you think.