In recent months, discussions have intensified around Canada’s plan to introduce automatic tax filing for low-income individuals — a policy presented as a simplification effort, designed to make tax compliance easier and faster. On paper, this initiative seems like a natural evolution in a world driven by automation and digital efficiency.
Yet, at Muia Consulting, we believe this trend deserves careful reflection. While technology can indeed reduce complexity and increase accessibility, it can also — unintentionally — alter the delicate balance between the State and the citizen.
When the State Becomes Both Legislator and Accountant
In every democracy, the State has a dual role: it writes the law and enforces it. When the same State begins to calculate, interpret, and file taxes automatically on behalf of the citizen, a fundamental question arises:
Who protects the citizen when the interpreter of the law is also its beneficiary?
Taxation is not merely an administrative act; it is a legal process rooted in interpretation, context, and rights. The true purpose of those who work in taxation — accountants, advisors, and consultants — is to inform and defend the citizen, ensuring that they pay exactly what the law requires: no more, no less.
The Risk of Losing Rights Through Automation
The principle that “ignorance of the law excuses no one” is as old as law itself. But what happens when automation quietly erases the very need — and ability — for citizens to understand their rights?
An automatic system cannot detect whether a family could have claimed a deduction, or whether a small business owner qualifies for a credit tied to a particular investment. It cannot replace the human reasoning that sees beyond numbers — that asks questions, notices anomalies, and acts as a bridge between legislation and real life.
For small entrepreneurs and private citizens alike, this loss of agency could translate into missed benefits, unclaimed credits, and unchallenged assumptions.
Compliance Should Never Mean Blind Trust
At Muia Consulting, we see taxation as a relationship of trust, not submission. Citizens have both duties and rights, and professionals exist precisely to ensure that both sides of the equation remain fair. Automation should assist the taxpayer, not replace their ability to understand or defend themselves.
When the system becomes automatic, the risk is that the citizen ceases to be a participant — and becomes instead a data point.
Our Responsibility
As tax professionals, our duty goes far beyond filling forms or meeting deadlines. We exist to educate, inform, and empower — to help individuals and businesses navigate the law with clarity and confidence.
Technology can and should serve this mission, but never at the expense of transparency and citizen autonomy.
Automation without accountability is not progress; it is dependency.
Author’s Note — Muia Consulting Insights
At Muia Consulting, we are committed to protecting our clients’ interests with honesty, transparency, and respect for the law. Our mission is to ensure that every citizen and business pays the right amount of tax — not more, not less — while maintaining their full understanding and control over their financial rights.
