In 2005, I wrote a post about the 10-year limitation period for relief applications that was introduced by the 2004 budget, and I noted that the drafting of the limitation period was ambiguous. The Federal Court of Appeal just released a decision resolving that ambiguity in favour of the taxpayer given the purpose and context of the relief provisions: see Bozzer v. The Queen, 2011 FCA 186, rev’g 2010 FC 139.
T1135 Madness
The more I read about the penalties for late-filing T1135 forms (the forms for foreign property reporting), the crazier they seem to me.
The Savoy
Savoy v. The Queen, 2011 TCC 35, should be required reading for anyone called on to defend an individual from an assessment for unremitted source deductions.
Resignation
The Ontario Ministry of Government Services (MGS), it appears, seems to believe that the sole director of a corporation cannot resign and leave the corporation without directors. The MGS will refuse to amend the public record for a corporation to show that it doesn’t have any directors if the sole director attempts to resign.
Shareholder Agreement Tax Gotcha
The following article will appear in an upcoming edition of the HLA Journal.
One wouldn’t think that entering into a shareholder agreement should have anything to do with the availability of the $500,000 small business deduction for a corporation, but in fact such an agreement could require the corporation to share the deduction with another that is otherwise unrelated.
Shakedown?
I hate to think that a CRA auditor could use the considerable powers at his disposal for a shakedown, but the RCMP is investigating just such a possibility.
Hiatus
My readers will have noted that my last post on this site was in February, which is an unusually long hiatus for this blog. I haven’t not posted for such a long period since I began the blog in 2005.…
More tax cases
I presented “Current Tax Cases” at the CRA’s quarterly Tax Practitioner’s Consultation Group meeting at the Royal Botanical Gardens on February 16. Please send an email to me (johnl att simpsonwigle.com) for a copy (our server is acting up and…
159(5) election
The 159(5) election permits an estate to pay “death taxes” (taxes owing as a result of the 70(5) deemed disposition) over ten years. The election must be filed, however, by the due date for the deceased’s terminal return. The election…
55(3)(a) and GAAR
The CRA has said that GAAR might apply to a deemed dividend otherwise exempt under 55(3)(a) where the purpose is to increase the cost of property (55(2.1)(b)(ii)(B)). Is that right? 55(3)(a) was amended to be applicable only in respect of…