The CRA is generally pretty generous when it considers taxpayer applications to extend the time for filing an objection, but there are limits to that generosity, and the Tax Court will often respect those limits. In FOOi Inc. v R,…
Form of objection
I have written before about the Tax Court’s tendency to give a liberal interpretation to what constitutes a “notice of objection”. I am a little surprised, then, that the CRA made an application to quash the appeal of the taxpayers…
Disputes involving losses
Summary of Michael H. Lubetsky “Income Tax Disputes Involving Loss Years: Pitfalls, Foibles, and Possible Reforms” (2019) 67:3 Canadian Tax Journal 499-531. This article won an award from the Canadian Tax Foundation as the best article it published in 2019.…
Objections
Ken Griffin and Marc Vanasse, “Income Tax Objection Process” Canadian Tax Highlights 25:3 (March 2017), summarizes the Auditor General’s report on the CRA objection process. Not surprisingly, the report found the process lacking in a number of ways. Objections take too long. The CRA does not learn effectively from the results of objections. In addition, the CRA does not have any standards for resolving objections in a timely manner.
Objections Can Result in a Bigger Tax Bill
The CRA takes the position that an Appeals officer can issue a reassessment that increases a tax liability if new information supporting the increase comes to light as part of the objection process. Amanda Doucette, “Filing a Notice of Objection…
Loss Carrybacks and Reassessments
Alex Klyguine reminds us that, if the CRA reassesses a year and the taxpayer wishes to dispute the reassessment, the taxpayer must be cautious about applying losses of other years to reduce the taxable income of the reassessed year. If…
Date of mailing a reassessment
Ordinarily, when confronted with an allegation that a notice of reassessment was not mailed on the date printed on the notice, the CRA will respond with affidavit evidence from a CRA officer. The affidavit will state that the CRA invariably…
Politics and taxes
Sometimes clients with a tax problem will ask whether it would help to have an MP or MPP write to the CRA or the Department of Justice on their behalf. In my experience, MPs and MPPs will almost always refuse, more or less politely, to get involved. It appears that John Duncan agreed to “help out”. He has now resigned from Cabinet as a result.
Access to information
PWC has just published a good Tax Memo (2012-27) on taxpayer access to audit and appeals reports and other documents generated by the CRA in the course of issuing a reassessment. I found helpful the references to P-148 and CRA technical interpretation 2011-0403751C6 regarding what the CRA should provide without the taxpayer having to make an access request.
Objecting Too Early
I’m used to hearing about taxpayers who file objections or appeals to the Tax Court late, but poor Mr Jablonski filed his objection too early (Jablonski v R, 2012 TCC 29). He objected to a reassessment before the end of…