Simple Tax, a online tax filing software startup located in Vancouver, has just gotten the thumbs up from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to launch its service to the public. The service was developed by Justin Reynen and Jonathan and Allison Suter who took their combined talents to create the software and startup. Reynen is a developer, Jonathan worked as VP of marketing at Canadian firm Syncapse and Allison is a tax lawyer. Simple Tax has the potential to become a very large part of the online tax business but for now it is free. The developers have created a product that they believe will attract users and all they ask is that they pay any amount they wish if they like Simple Tax.
The web-based Simple Tax got started in May of 2012 but could not go live with out CRA approval. Now that the startup has NETFILE certification they have processed and filed actual tax returns.
Jonathan Suter states that, “We are really excited about what we are doing. We think we are going to change the tax space. When we looked at the tax space, we thought, this is something everybody has to do every year. This is a space that really needs innovation.” He adds that, “It’s not getting easier for the average person to do their taxes; we really wanted to fix that.”
SimpleTax is hoping to take advantage of the CRA’s move to not send out paper forms to Canadians this year. The startup believes that their service will be a good way for people who are not comfortable with filing their returns online. The services ease of use comes from its page layout which has put the entire return in one page instead of multiple different pages. All a user needs to do is scroll up and down instead of flipping pages.
Suter states that, “The overall design is much more modern than what people are used to. And we calculate everything in real time, so as you enter a number in a box, everything on your tax return updates.”
The startup has not developed a comprehensive system but still complies with NETFILE standards. For example, the online system does not support AgriStability and Quebec based users. Residents of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut will also not be able to use the system.
Suter says that, “One of the big hesitations people have is paying for tax software. If people have been filing their returns on paper, to feel they have to pay to move online is a big barrier.
We wanted to make it free so that anyone can use it, and if they love our software they can choose to support us — that is completely optional. You don’t have to pay or you can give us $5 or $10 — it is very much a pay-what-you-want model.”
Simple Tax may consider the freemium model to generate revenue but Suter claims that, “We believe the core product should always be free.”
Source: Vancouver Sun
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