Editing Red tape (section)

==Cost of red tape==
It is impossible to know exactly how much of the burden of government regulations is red tape — ie, is excessive and delivers little or no benefit.  
However, a survey by the [[Canadian Federation of Independent Business]] (CFIB) found red tape represented about 28% of the total burden of regulation in Canada in 2020.<ref name=Cruz>{{cite web | url= https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/en/research-economic-analysis/canadas-red-tape-report  | date=2021 | title=Canada's Red Tape Report: Sixth Edition | last1=Cruz | first1=Keyli Kosiorek | first2=Laura | last2=Jones | first3=Taylor | last3=Matchett }}</ref>
The total cost of regulation for U.S. business was estimated in 2021 at US$364.3 billion, and for Canadian business in 2020 at US$31.9 billion, or CAN$38.8 billion.<ref>{{cite report | url=https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/en/research-economic-analysis/regulator...he%20share%20attributed%20to%20red,stood%20at%2032%20per%20cent  | title=Regulatory Costs in Canada and the United States: A Small Business Perspective | publisher=The Canadian Federation of Independent Business | date=February 2022 }}</ref>
This cost represents 1.5% of GDP for the U.S. and 1.7% for Canada.<ref>{{cite web | date=16 February 2022 | title=Regulatory Costs in Canada and the United States: A Small Business Perspective | url=https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/en/research-economic-analysis/regulatory...he%20share%20attributed%20to%20red,stood%20at%2032%20per%20cent  | publisher=Canadian Federation of Independent Business }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url= https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3610022201 |author=Statistics Canada | title=Table 36-10-0222-01 Gross Domestic product, expenditure-based provincial and territorial, annual |date=2018 |publisher=Government of Canada | doi=10.25318/3610022201-eng}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NGDPXDCUSA  | title=Nominal Gross Domestic Product for United States (NGDPXDCUSA) | publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis}}</ref><ref>In 2021, U.S. GDP was US$23,681 billion.  In 2020, Canadian GDP was CAN$2,220 billion.</ref>

The CFIB estimated that the cost of red tape arising from Canadian federal, provincial and municipal government regulations was $11 billion in 2020.  (This excluded [[COVID-19|covid-19]] related costs, to make the amount more comparable to previous years.)<ref name=Cruz/>
The annual cost of red tape per employee was higher for firms with fewer than 5 employees, at $1945, versus $398 for firms with 100 or more employees.<ref name=Cruz/> 

The ''Better Regulation Task Force'' suggested in 2005 that red tape reforms could potentially deliver an increase in income of 16 billion pounds per year, an amount greater than one percent of UK GDP.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Measuring and Managing the Costs of Red Tape: A Review of Recent Policy Developments | journal=Oxford Review of Economic Policy | volume=22 | pages=260–273 | doi=10.1093/oxrep/grj016 | number=2 | date=2006 | first=Tim | last=Keyworth }}</ref>
The [[European Union]]'s (EU) "Cutting Red Tape in Europe" report presented suggestions on how to reduce the administrative burden when member states implement EU legislation.<ref name=EU/>
The total administrative burden reduction potential of all recommendations in the report was estimated to exceed 41 billion euros annually.<ref name=EU>{{cite web | author=High Level Group on Administrative Burdens, Edmund Stoiber (Chairman) | title=Cutting Red Tape in Europe: Legacy and Outlook, Final Report | date=24 July 2014 | url=https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/fb18c49a-e601-4207-bbdd-111892fe91eb_en?filename=final-report-of-the-high-level-group_july2014_en.pdf }}</ref>

While a regulation may be useful, the cost of imposing it may exceed the benefits.  The Canadian federal government applies a cost-benefit analysis to most regulatory proposals, which takes into account the cost of the policy to consumers, businesses, and other sectors of society.<ref name=FRMI/>
Since the 1970s, Australian governments have sought to subject regulation to rigorous cost-benefit analysis so as to constrain both the stock and flow of the regulatory burden.<ref>{{cite journal | journal=Australian Journal of Public Administration | title=The 'forever war' on red tape and the struggle to improve regulation | first1=Arie | last1=Freiberg | first2=Monica | last2=Pfeffer | first3=Jeroen | last3=van der Heijden | date=17 January 2022 | volume=81 | issue=3 | doi= 10.1111/1467-8500.12534 | pages=436–454 | url= https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8500.12534 | publisher=Wiley Online Library | url-access=subscription }}</ref>