The following is from an OPSEU press release issued last week: The union representing 35,000 frontline Ministry employees who work directly for the Ontario government announced today that bargaining representatives of the Ontario Government have taken a significant step towards…
Burden of proof and gross negligence
In Brown v R, 2014 FCA 301, Webb JA had no trouble dismissing the taxpayer’s claim that the Income Tax Act (Canada) was void for uncertainty because, for example, it did not provide an adequate definition of “person”. The Court,…
Backdating trusts
In Al-Hossain v R, 2014 TCC 379, the Court wrote: The creation of a trust must be properly documented containing the requisite elements of a trust, dated, signed and in existence prior to or contemporaneous with the matter that is…
Detax rising?
I’ve been writing about detaxers for sometime. You would have thought their nonsense had been exposed long ago, not least because the tax courts have had no trouble dismissing their claims. Apparently not, however. The Canadian Bar Association is actually…
84.1 and employee buycos
I gave a talk today at the Hamilton Law Association on shareholder agreements and tax issues. David Howell asked me a question, on which I drew a blank, relating to employee buycos. Thanks to Shelley Wickenheiser, I was able to…
Rulings Directorate pre-rulings consultation program
From the Toronto Centre Canada Revenue Agency & Professionals Group Newsletter, Vol. 13: Issue 4, December 2014, which you can access through Tax Interpretations here: The Income Tax Rulings Directorate (ITRD) is offering, as a one-year pilot project, a new…
Deemed ownership of shares
I am giving a talk on Tuesday at the Hamilton Law Association on tax issues in shareholder agreements. From my speaking notes: The language of 251(5)(b) and subsection 256(1.4) appear to be very similar, but the CRA has maintained an…
PCs for doctors: a long overdue change
The application and renewal process for certificates of status for the professional corporations (PCs) of doctors and dentists was rather labyrinthine. The College of Physicians and Surgeons recently announced that the process for doctors has been simplified. In an email it sent to subscribers to its corporate mailing list, the College summarized the changes as follows.
The rectification saga
The rectification saga continues. From Timothy Fitzsimmons’ summary of Fairmont Hotels Inc. et al v AG (Canada), 2014 ONSC 7302: Fairmont relied on the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Juliar for the principle that the exact method to achieve…
Tax preparation and police checks
The CRA runs a volunteer tax preparer program, which is a Smart Idea. Beginning in 2016, the CRA will require all volunteer preparers to get police checks, which is a Dumb Idea.