Preface

For some time, we had been concerned that many of our students were often paying someone else to do their income tax returns for them. We wanted to show them that the tax forms were not as complicated as they might seem at first. We also wanted to acquaint them with the services provided by CCRA to low income tax payers with simple tax situations.

We recognize that even when the unit has been completed, many students will probably still be intimidated by the tax forms and would prefer to have someone more knowledgeable complete the return. They will, however, know more about our taxation system and will be aware that, even if you don't have the confidence to prepare your own return, you don't always have to pay someone else to prepare it. We hope that the knowledge they have gained will give them more control over an important part of their lives.

We have tried to keep the reading material close to Level 2 in complexity and difficulty. The tax return itself is a complex document, and we felt that a fairly low reading level would make it easier for students to gain an understanding of the income tax system. Although designed primarily for students in Levels 2 and 3, some of the simpler activities could be used with Level 1 students. Our Level 4 field testers found the material quite easy, but they also said it was interesting and useful.

We have provided performance indicators after each activity to enable teachers more easily to assess which outcomes have been demonstrated successfully on completion of the various tasks.