How the rest of the world does its taxes

After talking with Alexandra and Paul about Canada’s attempts to modernize tax filing, I was left with more questions than answers. How do other countries do this? If you’re setting up a new tax system, where do you start?

Alexandra chimed in with her own take on the issue once the podcast launched:

“Automatic filing is about more than taxes. It’s about whether Canadians still trust government to deliver … It’s a live test of whether Ottawa can deliver complex reform with humility, openness and skill.”

So I chatted with Dr. Fabrizio Santoro, an economist who’s the research lead for the Institute of Development Studies’ DPI and Tax Research Programme. He’s literally the person countries call to understand how to build tax systems that work. What I learned was as frustrating as it was surprising: Canada (and the US) are the exception.

Here’s the second part of our dive into personal tax filing. You can learn more about Fabrizio’s work at:

https://www.ids.ac.uk/

(You can listen on all major podcast platforms using the links at the top of this page.)