Québec solidaire is calling on the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) government to introduce a single income tax return to reduce the administrative burden on taxpayers and ensure the province's fiscal autonomy.

Sol Zanetti, MNA for Jean-Lesage and the QS minister responsible for sovereignty, denounced a "lack of political will" on the part of François Legault's government concerning this issue.

"This is something that could be done by law. The creation of the unique tax report in Quebec by Duplessis, it was done unilaterally without needing the consent of Canada, and I think the CAQ could do it too," he said in an interview.

Quebec is the only Canadian province to file two tax returns since Premier Maurice Duplessis introduced the provincial income tax in February 1954.

"The CAQ had actually promised to do it, in 2015, before getting elected. It was one of the things they showed as a strong promise of their commitment to more nationalistic governance, but in the end, they never went through with it," Zanetti recalled.

$425 MILLION IN ANNUAL SAVINGS

The change would save more than $425 million annually, according to calculations by the Research Institute on Self-Determination of Peoples and National Independence (IRAI).

"First of all, there would be a bureaucratic economy, because there is a duplication in terms of departmental structure and employees. We would keep some of the employees who are now doing the Canadian tax report. The others would be reassigned to other tasks in the government, because we are short of manpower and we need their expertise," said Sol Zanetti.

This change would also save money for businesses and, on a smaller scale, individuals.

"In Quebec, this $425 million per year, I think we can not do without. When we look at all the needs in the education system and in the health system, all the needs to accelerate the ecological transition (...), we have a duty to be efficient," he added.

The new management would also ensure the fiscal autonomy of Quebec, which is currently "on its knees" before Ottawa and receives "grit" from the Liberal government, he said.

"If Quebec collects its own taxes, it has the money to send to Ottawa the necessary funds against the services of the Canadian government," said the Zanetti. "It reverses the balance of power by bringing it back to Quebec."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 19, 2023.