Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Berthold, this is something people have been talking about for a long time, but they have yet to find a solution. Why? Because it's complicated. That's the problem.
You said you would like to have a single form. It's worth noting that 95% of individuals who currently receive a T4 from the federal government and an RL-1 from the provincial government file their returns with the help of an accountant or tax software. They enter the information in the program, which populates the appropriate fields for the two tax systems. That's all they have to do; it's not hard. The process is already simplified when people file electronically.
The important thing to remember is that there are two tax laws: Quebec's and the federal government's. The rest of Canada has just one, the federal law. The difference between the two is huge. Some things could be harmonized, but others would be very difficult to harmonize. As I pointed out, the two systems define income differently. That's a big deal. Quebec could lose at least $500 million annually if it harmonized its law with the federal government's. Otherwise, you, the federal lawmakers, would have to amend the Income Tax Act to introduce a tax in the rest of Canada on a benefit that is currently tax-exempt. That would cost Canadian taxpayers $3.8 billion.
It's one heck of a big problem, as I see it.