I’m often forced to explain to clients that, when it comes to tax debts and assessments, the “usual” limitation periods don’t apply. Mr. Justice Juriansz, in Danso-Coffey v. Ontario, 2010 ONCA 171, wrote that “time limits and limitation periods serve a valuable function in the legal process by promoting finality.” That principle is true for you and me, but the government is special, after all, and so “finality” doesn’t really apply to tax debts and the ability of the government to issue assessments in many cases. The Ontario government, in particular, with all its money and resources, can take its time about collecting debts or issuing assessments, and often does. Browning v. The Queen, 2010 TCC 487, then, is a refreshing reminder that sometimes even the government needs to respect limitation periods.
No New Policy for VDs
In July, The Globe and Mail was reporting that the CRA was getting ready to “relax the rules for confessing secret, offshore accounts”. Apparently the CRA was considering a new policy that would have required taxpayers to go back only…
PUC Shifts
In my article on multiple classes of shares, I described the difficulties that can arise where shareholders subscribe for shares of a class in the capital of a corporation at different times and at different prices per share. How does one solve the problems that can arise where shareholders own shares with tax costs that differ from the paid-up capital (“PUC”) of their shares for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the “Act”)?
A Difficult Client
It’s never easy to give a client bad news, but I doubt Wayne Montgomery expected a meeting with his client to end in criminal charges. His client, a former NFL player, was so dissatisfied with his tax refund that he tried…
Tax Cheats
The Prime Minister has promised that the CRA will chase tax cheats. The PM made this promise in the wake of the release of a CBC News-Globe and Mail report on offshore bank accounts at HSBC in Switzerland.
Partnership Filings
The following is from a news release posted to the CRA website yesterday: Starting in 2011, the requirement related to the number of partners in a partnership will be replaced with a new requirement based on financial activity. Also, the…
Some Big Numbers on Charity Tax Shelters
Today’s Globe and Mail reports that the CRA has reassessed, or soon will reassess, up to 170,000 Canadians “who have allegedly claimed $5-billion in bogus charitable donations since 2003 by using controversial tax shelter programs.”
Prescribed rates for 2010 Q4
The CRA was tardy about publishing the prescribed rates for 2010 Q3. It seems to have wanted to make up for it by publishing the rates for 2010 Q4 early.
Favourite Quote
One of my favourite tax quotes is the following, which was written by the judge in J.F. Newton Ltd. v. Riddell, 45 D.T.C. 5276, 2 C.T.C. 91, 50 B.L.R. 136, 1990 CanLII 933 (BC S.C.), who was forced to…
Auto Expenses
The CRA website now includes a post on the new method for keeping track of motor vehicle expenses.