OBA Tax Section Successfully Petitions for Certified Specialist Program in Tax

In June 2019, the Law Society of Ontario announced that it had created a Certified Specialist Program (CSP) in taxation law. The announcement is the culmination of a sustained multi-year effort on the part of the Ontario Bar Association’s Taxation Law Section, which has long advocated for recognition of the important contributions of Ontario’s tax law practitioners.

In acknowledgement of the diverse work performed by Ontario’s tax bar, the CSP will accredit an applicant as a “Certified Specialist (Taxation Law)” if they meet the requirements for any of four sub-categories of expertise: (1) Business Transactions; (2) Private Clients; (3) GST/HST and Sales Taxation; and (4) Litigation. The Standards for Certification describes each as follows:

Part I – Business Transactions, which relates to the application of income tax to corporations, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, securities instruments, financing, and public and private companies.

Part II – Private Clients, which relates to the application of income tax to individuals, trusts and estates, succession and philanthropic planning, post-mortem planning, and owner-managed businesses.

Part III – GST/HST and Sales Taxation, which relates to sales taxes, including GST/HST, RST, and federal/Ontario taxes with respect to specified goods.

Part IV – Litigation, which is the practice of resolving tax law disputes, including audit assistance, objections and appeals, and litigation in federal and Ontario courts.