Finance Proposes Amendments for Bank of Canada Currency Exchange Rates
On September 16, 2016, the Department of Finance released proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act (Canada). Contained in that package are a series of proposed amendments in respect of how taxpayers convert foreign currencies to Canadian dollars for the purposes of Canadian tax.
Currently, the Bank of Canada publishes two exchange rates daily (at noon and at closing) for certain currencies. As of March 1, 2017, the Bank will only publish a single rate at 16:30 Eastern Time, reflecting the daily average exchange rate for the currencies. Finance has proposed amendments to remove references to the noon rate published by the bank in several provisions, including the definition of “relevant spot rate” in subsection 261(1), effective as of March 1, 2017.
View the proposed amendments here: http://www.fin.gc.ca/drleg-apl/2016/ita-lir-0916-eng.asp