WIITBY FREIE PRESS; WEDNESDAYt APRIL'221 1987, 'PAGE 7' PAGE SEVEN AS IT LOOKS I did my income tax last weekend. At this time of year there are all kinds of articles about how onerous a task it is, how incom- prehensible the forms are, how unfair the taxation system is, and how the government takes far more than they.deserve. Every year at this time, the subject of taxes provides useful fodder for the columnist's mill, but a lot of what gets written simply panders to the popularized image of the poor exploited taxpayer. I'm certainly not about to defend the tax system because it is un- necessarily complicated and could be vastly improved. But given the competing forces at work .in this country, the specialized regional needs, the delicate balances that must be preserved, and always the huge deficits that get passed ever bigger from one government to the next, I think it works surprisingly well. Are we overtaxed? Every one of us can cite numerous areas where we believe the government is squandering our nioney, but for everyone who opposes a particular expense, there will be two who support it, and that, after all, is what democracy is al about. There are some who believe we spend too much on social programs but who do you cut off and when you've eut them off, who pays the bills then. There are others who think we spend too much on defen- ce, but if we didnt, what would be the impact on relations with other countries, would it affect trade, would hi-tech industries wither for lack of markets, would it cost more in the long run? There is, however, one area that virtually everybody can agree is too costly...the civil service. Evén the government itself agrees and every time a new government is elected it pledges to make drastie cuts in the public payroll. But who loses their jobs? Only those that quit or retire of their own accord. This process of attrition leads inevitably to a concentration of deadwood throughout the gover- nment service. We've all run into it. You phone up a government agency with a seemingly simple and straightforward enquiry and you get shunted from person to person trying to find someone who has, or at least believes he has, the authority to answer your question. And even then you frequently find that the answer was either wrong or incomplete. Unfortunately, any staff with the initiative, the ambition and the intelligence to do the kind of job that needs to be done, feels stifled in the bureaucratie environment and moves on. So why does the problem get worse every year? Because no government yet has had the will to withstand the fallout that would result from putting tens of thousands of people out of work. Besides, they would have to create another bureaucracy in order to ensure that the cuts were well-considered, justified and fair. In the end, as has happened in the past, the civil service would get bigger rather than smaller. But enough on how the money is spent - what about how it is collected. I am surprised at the number of people every year who are paranoid at the thought of preparing their income tax. The number of people who conclude they can't do it before they've ever tried astounds me. The hundreds of commercial taxation services are a testament to our fear of tax forms. These companies through heavy advertising play on those fears ("Do you want to face the tax auditor alone? ") and exaggerate the complexity of the process. They also suggest the notion that they know some loopholes that might get you more money than you would on your own. I am frankly amazed that the government allows such blatantly misleading advertising. The fact is that for any wage earner with a T4 and perhaps a few other slips, the income tax form can be done in less than an hour. The forms are really straightforward and well cross-referenced to the tax guide. Considering how complex the tax system is, the for- ms have been designed with amazing clarity. If you can read and do simple math, you should have no trouble doing your income tax. The people that tax-services employ are short-term help who have been given a quickie course in filling out simple tax forms. Through repetition, they have learned to do them with speed, finesse and an aura of efficient expertise - they make it look simple, and it is. And you still do most of the work - you gather together all the forms and slips, they just fill in the blanks. Even more complex tax situations (H & R Block would like you to believe that ALL tax situations are complex) are pretty straight forward when you get right down to it. My own tax form which was considerably complicated by leaving a salaried position to run my own business (and had about twenty different attachments) took only about four hours to do. I hate to think what a tax service would have charged me or whether they could even do it. Virtually every year, at least one of the major dailies does a comparison of tax services by taking the same tax situation to several different companies. The result is usually the same - several different answers, most wrong. If you resent paying taxes, if you think the government squanders your hard earned money, don't let the slick heavily-promoted tax "consultants" persuade you to squander even more on a service you don't need. To the editor: REAL Women is delighted that the special committee on child care supports the principle of home care for infants and toddlers. We are pleased also that they acknowledge the primary right and respon- sibility of parents to arrange for the kind of child care best suited for their family. We also share the con- cerns of the committee for high quality care for all children. We are glad to know that it does not recommend putting children into day care institutions completely funded and controlled by the state. We approve of the concept of tax credits for families with children rather than tax deductions. however, we are surprised and disappointed that the principle of supporting home care is not given an equitable economic base. The recommendation that home care tax credits should be only a small fraction of the tax break given to double income families is discrimination against the already overburdened one income family, and is a put-down of the full-time homemaker. We trust that this inequity will not be passed into law. Many people have criticized the report for not providing more government-run day care spaces. it is our belief that if families had a genuine economic choice, many more parents would opt for full- time home care by the mother - thus making day care spaces less necessary. Subsidized day care is only a band-aid solution to the economic squeeze that families are suffering in our society. The government, with employers and unions, should be trying to work out a comprehen- sive program to~enable families to survive on one income - that is, on a 40-hour work week, instead of the 80-hour week that is becoming more necessary. Families are un- der a financial strain caused by, high taxes, inflation and unem- ployment. REAL women has made several suggestions to the gover- nment to assist the basic unit of our society, the nuclear family, to fulfill its role of bringing up the next generation of our citizens in a stable, healthy environment. Gwen Landolt, Lawyer/Consultant for the National Board of REAL Women of Canada Day care is a family .issue, says Fennel By SCOTT FENNELL MP ONTARIO RIDING In this day and age, there are many farnilies where both parents work to support their family as well as single parents looking after tne children. Because of this, the question of day care must be ad- dressed. On March 30 the Martin Report on Child Care was tabled in the House of Commons. The special committee spent nine months travelling across Canada to deter- mine the opinions of all Canadians on day care. The committee found that Canadians do not want a universal day care system as they realise the enormous costs involved for all Canadians. Lower and mid- die-income families agreed that they want government assistance for child care, but they want this assistance with as little gover- nment interference as possible. The committee established key recommendations in their report and they are as follows: 1- A new child care expense tax credit to replace the existing child care expense deduction. This would provide fairer tax treatment for families, providing more assistan- ce than at present to lower-income families. 2- Operating grants for licensed child care services tô improve the quality of existing services without raising fees. 3- Grants to stimulate develop- ment of new day care spaces. 4- Business must also share in the responsibility, through extended maternity and paternity benefits. 5-Significant improvements to UIC and maternity and paternity benefits, including more flexibility and a longer benefit period. 6- A child care tax credit for ail families with preschool children, even where one parent stays home to raise a family. My feelings are that it would be better to reform the tax system so that it would be attractive for one spouse to stay at home with their children, should they so desire. I believe that day care is a family issue and that both parents should take responsibility in raising their children. The creation of a registered maternity benefits plan, designed like the registered retirement savings - plan, would allow tax-free saving to pay for the expense of having a baby. In this way, it would compensate parents who stay at home for their children's preschool years. I think there is a growing awareness of the benefits of a parent who chooses to stay at home with the children. This space has been set aside for well-developed comn(ents on issues of local concern. Articles of preferably 700 - 1000 words may be submitted by any concerned individuals whether politician or private citizen. Senl to the attention of the editor at Box 206. Whitby. Ont. LIN .5S1. or leave at the Free Press of- fice at 131 Brock St. N. Home day care supported