The more I read about the penalties for late-filing T1135 forms (the forms for foreign property reporting), the crazier they seem to me.
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.…
Taxman’s Best Friend?
A Swiss village is preparing to kill residents’ pet dogs over a $50.00 tax liability. One wonders what would happen if you fall behind on property tax. http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/11/swiss-village-to-dog-owners-pay-your-taxes-or-poochie-dies/
Creditor Proofing
Professionals who advise their clients to enter into creditor-proofing transactions need to think twice in light of Abakhan & Associates Inc. v. Braydon Investments Ltd., 2009 BCCA 521. In this case, the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from a judgment that, in effect, set aside a species of butterfly transaction under the Fraudulent Conveyance Act, 1996, R.S.B.C. c.163, even though the principal of the distributing corporation “had no dishonest intent, or mala fides, and acted on professional advice to effect legitimate business purposes” [¶2].
T1135
A taxpayer is required to file a form T1135 in respect of foreign property, including foreign securities, even if the securities are held in a Canadian brokerage account. If you fail to file the form in these circumstances, and the…
ASPE is coming!
I just returned from the Canadian Tax Foundation’s Ontario Conference where Ruth Cummings (KPMG LLP) and Jane Bowen (University of Ontario Institute of Technology) gave a presentation on the new standards set out in the “Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises” (ASPE) and the “International Financial Reporting Standards” (IFRS).
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…
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…
The HST in Ontario
Do I dare to write about the HST? I don’t, much, because I don’t know much about it. Nonetheless, let me share with you an insight about the Ontario HST that might make your practice life a little easier.
Tax Wiki
Professor Ben Alarie at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (my alma mater, I’m proud to say) has started a tax wiki, which is meant to help “Canadians confused with complicated tax laws”.