Administrative Burden Baseline: Update 2018

The Administrative Burden Baseline provides Canadians with a clear metric on the total number of requirements in federal regulations and associated forms that impose administrative burden on business. This baseline contributes to the openness and transparency of the federal regulatory system.

All federal regulations that are sponsored by the Minister of Finance that have requirements that impose administrative burden on business are identified in the tables below. The total June 30th 2018 count is 4,519. The total June 30th 2017 count is 4,514. The total June 30th 2016 count is 4,818. The total June 30th 2015 count is 4,766. The total June 30th 2014 baseline count is 4,693.

The total June 30, 2018 count for tax regulations is 1,928.

The Canadian tax system generally functions on a self-assessment basis and tax legislation and regulations tell taxpayers how to compute income, sales or other amounts subject to tax and how to avail themselves of certain measures such as deductions or credits. While some of the requirements included in tax regulations impose an administrative burden on businesses, taken in a broader context, many of these requirements reduce the compliance burden for business overall or describe what is required to benefit from a relieving measure.

1. Many federal tax regulations are required to implement agreements that eliminate duplicative taxes at the provincial level, with benefits that include: a lower compliance burden for taxpayers, lower administrative costs for governments, and economic benefits from a more competitive and neutral tax system.
   • Approximately 450 requirements on business relate to the provincial component of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), which is levied under federal legislation. These federal regulatory requirements minimize the compliance and administrative burden imposed on businesses by eliminating substantial duplicative provincial requirements. As a result of the HST, businesses no longer have to comply with separate federal and provincial sales tax systems nor deal with different tax administrators. The Province of Ontario estimated that joining the HST reduced the compliance burden on businesses in that province by $500 million annually.
2. Tax regulations are often the mechanism for relieving reporting and record-keeping requirements that are imposed by the related legislation.
   • In order to simplify how small businesses calculate the amount of GST/HST to remit, the GST/HST Regulations provide optional simplified accounting methods, such as the one that eliminates the need to separately keep track of the GST/HST paid on most purchases and collected on most sales. These streamlined accounting regulations have a count of 23.
   • To eliminate the requirement for employees to keep detailed records of their actual automobile expenses, the Income Tax Regulations specify per-km formulas and rates that can be used to reimburse employees that use their personal vehicle for business purposes. A count of 15 relates to this aspect of the regulations.
3. Tax regulations are also often required in order to provide tax relief in specific defined circumstances.
   • Seven regulatory requirements relate to computations and filings required for a corporation to make a capital dividend election. This election allows for the tax-free payment of dividends from a corporation’s capital dividend account.
   • Seven regulatory requirements relate to the elections businesses may make regarding the depreciation of certain classes of assets. For example, a business may elect to have certain assets within the same class (transmission pipelines) depreciated as separate classes, which may save them taxes or simplify their accounting.
   • Three regulatory requirements relate to the computation of an amount deductible from a business’s income regarding its depletion allowances, which can benefit businesses by simplifying the calculation of deductions for the depreciation of resource related assets.

The total June 30, 2018 count for regulations in respect of the fuel charge imposed under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act is 0.

The total June 30, 2018 baseline count for financial sector regulations is 2,591. The total June 30, 2017 baseline count for financial sector regulations is 2,586.

Consultations and Communications Branch
Department of Finance Canada
14th floor
90 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5

Phone: 613-369-3710
Facsimile: 613-369-4065
TTY: 613-995-1455
E-mail: fin.financepublic-financepublique.fin@canada.ca

• Government-wide Administrative Burden Baseline counts
• Government-Wide Forward Regulatory Plans
• The Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management
• The Red Tape Reduction Action Plan
• The Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council

To learn about upcoming or ongoing consultations on proposed federal regulations, visit the Canada Gazette and Consulting with Canadians websites.