In a well-reasoned technical interpretation (2014-0525501E5, just released), the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) concluded that payments by Canadian companies (Usercos) to UK and US resident companies (Ownercos) for the right to use customer lists owned by the Ownercos are exempt…
In a rather bold move, the taxpayer in Coast Capital Savings Credit Union v. Canada (2015 TCC 195) claimed that it was the victim of a “sham” and sought to amend its notice of appeal on a motion before the…
This blog was co-authored by Simon Thang and Rosemary Anderson.
Time is running out to file an important Goods and Services Tax (GST/HST) election form that, until recently, was not required to be filed.
Specifically, Canadian corporations and partnerships that…
Subsection 104(13.4) of the Income Tax Act (the “Act”) will come into effect on January 1, 2016. If not corrected, this provision will have a catastrophic and devastating effect on many estate plans involving alter ego trusts, joint spousal and…
The recent case of Boroumand v. The Queen 2015 TCC 239 neatly illustrates just how challenging a forum the Tax Court can be for certain appellants. The facts of the case are unremarkable and common enough: the appellant was brought…
In a case of what could be considered “good news/bad news,” certain naturopathic and acupuncturist services became GST/HST-exempt effective February 12, 2014. The Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) recently released its administrative interpretation of these new exemptions (see Technical Information Bulletin…
It is an entrenched common law rule that domestic courts must refuse to enforce tax claims of a foreign government (United States of America v. Harden, [1963] SCR 366). This rule, known as the “revenue rule”, was once regarded as…
It is not often that tax cases wind their way to the Supreme Court of Canada so both that Court’s judgments on specific points of tax law, as well as it’s more general observations about tax law are of interest.…
Traditionally, the Tax Court only awarded costs that deviated from the Tariff annexed to the Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure) (the “Rules”) in the presence of reprehensible, scandalous or outrageous conduct on the part of one of the…
In litigation there are winners and losers. In Deans Knight Income Corp. v. The Queen, 2015 TCC 143 the Appellant lost in its attempt to have the court strike GAAR from the Minister’s pleadings and the court’s reasons leading to…