Red tape is the popular term for rules and regulations, paperwork, permits and licenses that burden especially smaller businesses. Government recognizes the costs associated to this compliance.

Tackling red tape and paper burden issues, however, is no simple task. For one, many levels of government are involved in regulating business activities. Another challenge relates to the importance of maintaining strong and effective regulations that protect individuals, their privacy, and the environment.

The federal government took on these challenges and, as of March 2009, the burden was reduced by 20%. Other solutions are being sought to further ease the paperwork burden on businesses.

One solution to reduce your burden of dealing with the Canada Revenue Agency is the My Business Account where you can access GST/HST, payroll, corporation income taxes, excise taxes, excise duties and other levies accounts online.

Another time saving initiative is BizPaL for finding the permits and licenses that your business needs. BizPaL ties together requirements from federal and provincial/territorial governments, and increasingly more municipalities. Try out our Permits and Licenses Search to see BizPaL in action.

Read more about the federal government's efforts to reduce the cost of complying with government regulations on the Paperwork Burden Reduction Initiative website.