Profiles of Tax Non-Compliance among the Self-Employed in Canada: 1969 to 1992

This paper utilizes an expenditure-based approach to provide estimates of the degree of income-tax non- compliance by Canadian self-employed households using a series of Canadian Family Expenditure Surveys from 1969 to 1992. These estimates are disaggregated across years, demographic characteristics, and occupation to shed some light on the determinants of such activities and to provide guidance to tax enforcement policymakers. The findings suggest that the degree of non-compliance by the self-employed varies significantly by occupation, age, and the number of household members self-employed.