Prepared for the:
Public Affairs Branch
Canada Revenue Agency
FINAL REPORT
November 2006
POR#061-06
Contract #4655875767
Prepared by:
Environics Research Group
Le rapport complet en français sera fourni sur demande.
To request a full copy of this report, please contact Library and Archives Canada at:
613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777 or www.collectionscanada.ca
Media Enquiries:
Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
4th Floor 555 MacKenzie Avenue
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5
media.relations@cra-arc.gc.ca
Executive Summary
The Agency's 2006 Annual Corporate Survey was conducted by the Environics Research Group. The 2006 survey is the second iteration since the introduction of the new Annual Corporate Survey that began in 2005. The 2006 survey is based on telephone interviews conducted June 8 to 28, 2006 with 4,008 Canadians. The sample was stratified to provide meaningful results in each of the 10 provinces.
The results for 2006 are very similar to those recorded in 2005. The CRA continues to be positively regarded by most Canadians, in overall terms, with respect to the values by which it is seen to operate, and in terms of the services it provides to taxpayers. Four in ten (40%) now give the Agency excellent or good ratings for its overall performance, and this represents a small but significant increase over the past year (up 3 percentage points). A plurality (45%) continues to say the CRA is doing an acceptable job, while very few (12%) assign poor performance ratings. Canadians continue to be comparatively less favourable in their assessment of the federal government's performance (32% positive, versus 20% negative), but these ratings have improved substantially since 2005, and this may be a factor in boosting the Agency's own public image.
As in 2005, negative opinions of the CRA are based more on general perceptions about the Agency or the government generally (e.g. tax policy) than as a result of dissatisfaction with service-related issues. A small and shrinking proportion of taxpayers continue to mistakenly hold the Agency responsible for setting tax levels and/or federal spending decisions.
Apart from the broader government and tax-related context in which the Agency operates, ratings of the CRA's overall performance are most strongly influenced by the extent to which it is seen as adhering to its corporate values, especially in operating in an efficient manner and treating taxpayers fairly. New corporate values (added in 2006) pertaining to CRA being trustworthy and cost-effective also emerge as important predictors of overall performance, with the trust value of particular importance among taxpayers who have had recent service experiences with the Agency.
In 2006, filing of personal income returns for the 2005 tax year has been uneventful for most taxpayers. As in 2005, eight in ten reported their final assessment turned out as they expected, and this year a smaller minority (18%) experienced frustration, anger or anxiety when completing their return. More than one in four (27%) taxpayers contacted the Agency in the past 12 months to get information or receive a service, mostly with respect to their personal income taxes. As in 2005, this service experience was positive in most cases, with 81 percent saying they achieved the purpose of their contact.
One in four (24%) Canadians report to have visited the CRA website in the previous six months (since January 1, 2006), most of whom did so one to four times. More than six in ten (63%) visitors were satisfied with the website overall, compared with 12 percent who were dissatisfied. Most taxpayers who did not visit the site simply saw no reason to do so, with one quarter citing lack of access to a computer or the Internet.
A majority (62%) of Canadians continue to believe tax cheating is a problem today, but this view has declined since 2005, especially among those who label it a “major” problem (declining from 35% to 28%). At the same time, there is a growing public consensus that income tax cheating is socially unacceptable behaviour, although two-thirds still believe that most people would cheat given the opportunity.
Over the past year, Canadians have become somewhat more confident that tax cheaters will get caught, although most remain sceptical about the government's ability to detect undeclared cash income. As in 2005, a plurality (43%) continue to believe the Agency is putting the right level of effort into compliance, with most of the rest saying it is not doing enough (35%) (only 3% say the CRA is putting too much effort into compliance).
