Articles 2023

As the last quarter of 2015 proceeds, it is important for advisors and tax practitioners to be aware of several filing and administrative deadlines that, if not met, could resulted in unwanted administrative time and cost. This article discusses and highlights the requirements of and amendments to the section 156 “nil consideration elections” under the Excise Tax Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. E-15.

The article discusses the recent decision of Guindon v Canada, which is the first decided case that addresses the application of the preparer penalty in subsection 163.2(4) of the ITA.

The ongoing debate about international tax avoidance (often referred to as base erosion and profit shifting, or “BEPS”) and international response such as the OECD’s BEPS Action Plan (July 2013) have focused on mainly income tax. BEPS is providing both the impetus and potentially a key missing ingredient to tackle the persistent challenge of collecting sales tax on e-commerce.

The article provides a review of the ingredients required for a partnership to exist; with a focus on the “carried on in common” requirement.

The taxpayer in Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences v. R. relied on representations of an auditor regarding a method for properly allocating between GST/HST exempt and non-exempt services. At issue, therefore, was the application of the doctrines of estoppel and officially induced error.

The article: (i) provides an overview of Canada Revenue Agency’s voluntary disclosure program; and (ii) highlights certain recent changes regarding the administration of the program.

The article provides an overview of new legislation that requires all international electronic funds transfers of $10,000 or more to be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency.

The implementation of changes to the Mandatory Disclosure Rules as proposed in the 2021 federal budget continues to be a multi-year process. The proposed changes include broadening the scope of the existing reportable transaction rules, enacting notifiable transaction rules and enacting uncertain tax treatment rules. Recently, the government renewed its commitment to implementing the proposed rules, but their coming into force has mixed timing.