Blogging is so popular that even lawyers are doing it! Steve Matthews, the Knowledge Services Director at Clark Wilson LLP in Vancouver, has created a list of legal blogs (“blawgs”) in Canada, which you can find here.
Reallocation of Partnership Income
Subsection 103(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) is an anti-avoidance rule that permits the Minister to reallocate (among other things) income among the partners of a partnership where the “principal reason” for the allocation agreed upon by the partners…
Independent Contractors — Or Not?
When is an independent contractor not an independent contractor for the purposes of the Employment Insurance Act (the “EI Act”)? Apparently when the Employment Insurance Commission of Canada makes a regulation that says she isn’t.
Fairness and Delay
If a court take too long to hear a taxpayer’s case, is the taxpayer entitled to interest relief under the fairness provisions of the Income Tax Act? In Cole v. Canada (Attorney General), 2005 FC 1445, the CRA said no. The Federal Court took another view of the matter.
Settling Tax Court Appeals
It is often said that, in a tax appeal, the Canada Revenue Agency is the client and the Department of Justice is its lawyer. As the client, the CRA gives instructions to Justice about how to conduct a tax case. Whether a case can be settled, it is thought, depends on the litigation officer from the CRA who is giving instructions to Justice. Indeed, Justice lawyers themselves often talk this way.
Garber v. The Queen, 2005 TCC 635, suggests that the situation is more complex than that.
OMA Law
Some readers of this newsletter were under the impression that my last article (“OMA Opens Law Firm!”) was intended to applaud the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) for offering to incorporate professional corporations for its members. In fact, our firm has…
OMA Opens Law Firm!
Apparently, the Ontario Medical Association has opened a law firm. It is offering to incorporate professional corporations for doctors for a “nominal” fee ($100 plus disbursements plus GST for a total of $523.90). It is unclear how long this sale will last, so doctors should hurry to take advantage of it before it is too late.
Section 84.1
What tax practitioner hasn’t woken up in the middle of the night, sweating, because of dreams haunted by section 84.1 file demons? I will try to banish the demons — or propitiate them anyway — in a short presentation on February 2, 2006 at the CRA’s Hamilton & District Tax Consultation Group.
Fairness: First and Second Reviews
A taxpayer submits a fairness request to the CRA, and the request is rejected by the first officer to review it on the ground that it did not show inability to pay. The taxpayer agrees with the officer: the taxpayer did fail to show inability to pay because the taxpayer never raised the issue! The taxpayer, however, did mention CRA delay as a ground for relief, but that point is not addressed by the officer. The taxpayer sends the request back to the CRA for another review. A recent case — Dort (Estate) v. Canada (Minister of National Revenue), 2005 FC 1201 —- suggests that this other review should be regarded as a “first look” by the CRA and that, if the CRA rejects the request, the taxpayer is entitled to a second review.
RRSP Mischief
Here’s a depressing case to start off the New Year and take us into the “RRSP season”: Nunn v. The Queen, 2005 TCC 806. The CRA warning about similar schemes, discussed here and here, was apt but too late for…