Readers of this blog will know that I am not a fan of discretionary dividend shares (shares issued for $1, or some other nominal amount, that are redeemable for that amount but entitled to unlimited dividends). I harbour these concerns…
No cure for negligent misrepresentation
Filing an amended return will not cure a negligent misrepresentation made in the original return, and so the CRA will still be able to reassess beyond the normal reassessment period in respect of the misrepresentation. Georgina Tollstam, “Deceased’s Return Reassessed…
Letters of intent and control
From Karen Stilwell, “CRA View – LOI May Engage 251(5)(b)”, Tax Hyperion 12:9 (September 2015): CRA’s position on the issue is that the question may only be answered on a case-by-case basis…
ONCA: More Delay
It appears that the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (the “ONCA”) won’t come into force until 2017, seven years after it was enacted. What’s with the delay?
Terminal return exemption claim does not create hard basis
From question 7 of the 2015 APFF roundtable: if Mr X’s estate claims the capital gain exemption in his terminal return in respect of a gain realized on his deemed disposition of Opco shares, then the resulting addition to the…
Amalgamations and CDA
From question 6 of the 2015 APFF Roundtable, it appears that the positive capital dividend account balance created by Subco’s realization of a capital gain could be paid to Parentco and then to Parentco’s shareholders as a capital dividend even…
Castro
Craig Burley has written an interesting post on R v Castro, 2015 FCA 225. My summary of Craig’s summary: ouch!
Share attributes
In Neil Armstrong’s summary of a butterfly ruling (2014-0533601R3), he wrote: The reorganization started off in the usual manner with a s. 86 reorg under which the DC shareholders exchanged their old common and preferred shares for special “butterfly” shares…
Bike stands
Neil Armstrong notes the following CRA positions on employee benefits from the 2015 APFF Conference: Providing a bike stand area for employees does not confer a benefit if the employees’ usage of it is “difficult to quantify and measure”. Providing…
55(2) as a tax reduction tool
The CRA accepts that the GAAR will not apply where a taxpayer deliberately triggers 55(2) to reduce tax. Rather than having Opco pay a dividend to Mr A, Mr A could roll his shares of Opco to Holdco and have…