Last week the BC government tabled Bill 45, which seeks to implement the province’s new Speculation and Vacancy Tax. A careful review of the Bill suggests that it is overreaching and lacking in taxpayer fairness. Critical aspects of the…
The recent Federal Court decision in Canada (National Revenue) v. Hydro-Québec, 2018 FC 622 made a strong statement against an interpretation of the CRA’s powers that would allow virtually unlimited invasions of taxpayer privacy. The decision considered the scope of…
In these heady days of cryptocurrency investment, the market can seem like a gold rush: offering promise, but at the expense of predictability. The taxation of cryptocurrencies is no different. In this article, a collaboration between the Fintech Team…
For the past few months, the City of Vancouver has been conducting audits to verify the 2017 vacancy tax declarations filed by owners under the City’s Vacancy Tax By-Law No. 11674. Observers of the tax, which is unique in Canada, have…
The Tax Court of Canada last week released a landmark decision on the GST/HST status of certain commonplace transaction processing services, namely VISA’s payment platform offering to financial institutions.
In Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v Her Majesty the Queen,…
Yesterday Vancouver’s municipal council approved amendments to Vacancy Tax By-law No. 11674, which governs the city’s unique 1% tax on certain residential properties. The amendments mainly serve to narrow the exemptions available to homeowners after months of conducting audits.…
The Government of British Columbia recently made a regulation that will require, effective September 17, 2018, certain corporations and trusts that acquire property to disclose additional information on their Property Transfer Tax returns. The new return will require disclosure of…
In a recent Federal Court case, the court sentenced a taxpayer for contempt of court for refusing to comply with a court order requiring the production of records to the CRA. The court imposed a fine of $6,000 and again…
In Fiducie financière Satoma c. Canada, 2018 CAF 74, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled on the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (the “GAAR”) again this year (see our previous Alert re: Oxford Properties). In upholding the Tax Court of Canada’s…
Monday, April 16, 2018, is the deadline to submit notices of complaint to dispute vacancy tax notices issued by the City of Vancouver. Any registered owner who received a vacancy tax notice could potentially submit a complaint, even if they…
