OTTAWA - A recent union-sponsored survey suggests an overwhelming majority of federal government auditors believe Canada's tax system unfairly favours the wealthy over average Canadians.

The poll, conducted by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, found nine out of 10 auditors and other tax professionals surveyed agreed that corporations and wealthy Canadians can more easily avoid paying taxes than less well-off individuals.

The survey of more than 1,700 members of the union, which represents tax professionals at the Canada Revenue Agency, also found four of every five respondents think loopholes and tax credits built into the system benefit corporations and the rich.

Some 84 per cent of respondents to the internal online survey said they believe that by better enforcing existing tax laws, the government could capture more tax revenues without raising taxes.

The anonymous survey was sent electronically to nearly 11,600 PIPSC members working for the tax agency between Feb. 20 and March 6.

Of the 2,170 respondents, 1,741 were tax professionals, including 1,384 auditors. The analysis excluded responses from 429 computer-systems employees.