In 2013-0500891I7, the CRA’s Rulings Directorate reversed a proposed audit adjustment relating to a “drop and sell” transaction. The parent company in the group (Parent) had borrowed money for a capital purpose and purchased forward contracts to hedge this…
In 2013-0512921E5, the CRA said that 25% withholding tax (WHT) applied to a cross-border “franchise relicensing fee” under s. 212(1)(d). Subject to specific inclusions and exceptions, s. 212(1)(d) applies generally to any
“rent, royalty or similar payment” paid to…
In Lehigh Cement Limited v. The Queen, 2014 FCA 103, the Federal Court of Appeal strongly rejected the CRA’s broad interpretation of the anti-avoidance rule in s. 95(6). The Court held that the rule is narrowly targeted at a…
This past Tuesday, April 1, 2014, marked the one-year anniversary of the new PST and the kick-off of audit season under BC’s Provincial Sales Tax Act (PSTA). Businesses have reason for concern: despite significant confusion surrounding the implementation of the…
The decision in Fio Corporation v. The Queen, 2014 TCC 58 is an interesting and recent example in which the Minister’s attempt to gain exemption from well-established and long standing rules of litigation was met with censure from the court.…
On March 20, 2014 the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal in the case of Guindon v. The Queen. If one had been listening closely on that Thursday morning, it is likely that one could have heard both…
British Columbia practitioners were shocked by paragraph 85(1)(f) of the Family Law Act (British Columbia), which was brought into force on March 18, 2013, because it effectively presumes that property held by a discretionary trust is 100% owned by a…
Earlier this month, the federal government announced that it had reached an agreement with the U.S. to ameliorate the more drastic effects of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The announcement came mere days before the 2014 Federal Budget…
On February 11, 2014, the Minister of Finance released the federal government’s 2014 Budget. The Budget continued last year’s theme of “closing tax loopholes” and “improving the fairness and integrity of the tax system,” and to that end proposed a…
CRA narrowly interprets foreign affiliate income recharacterization rule. In 2012-0439661I7 (released February 5, 2014), the CRA narrowly construed the foreign affiliate income recharacterization rule in s. 95(2)(a)(i), which can operate to convert income from property (FAPI) of a foreign…