Articles 2020

When the government disregards its contractual or settlement obligations, taxpayers who fall short of receiving relief under private law usually pin their hopes on public law (or restitutionary) remedies. However, these are typically a last resort and only available in exceptional circumstances.

In Robillard (Estate) c. The Queen, the Estate of Mr. Robillard implemented a “post-mortem pipeline” strategy. The Minister sought to apply subsection 84(2) of the Income Tax Act. With reluctance, the Tax Court followed the Federal Court of Appeal decision in Canada v. MacDonald and found that subsection 84(2) applied. However, it strongly criticized the FCA’s broad interpretation of subsection 84(2) and indicated that it may be time for the FCA to reconsider its MacDonald decision.

What Rules Apply for the 2022 Tax Filing Season? New reporting requirements for trusts imposed through the addition of subsection 150(1.2) to the Income Tax Act were originally announced in the July 27, 2018 Federal Budget. These new rules were to take effect on December 31, 2021, and subsequent taxation years. The implementation of these enhanced reporting requirements is currently pending.

In 2021, I transitioned from practicing primarily in an income tax controversy role to an indirect tax advisory role. This led to many discoveries about the misconceptions surrounding indirect tax laws, regulations and practice. Having evaluated my own assumptions and discussing with mentors and colleagues, here are a list of some considerations when comparing and contrasting income tax to indirect tax.

Solo practice brings with it unique rewards and challenges. Throughout the pandemic, we have all persevered through periods of lockdown and the constantly changing Covid restrictions, including work from home orders. Most practitioners have had to adapt to a new way of practicing law and have had a glimpse into the world of a solo practitioner. Some have been left wondering if solo practice might be the right path for them.

Tax litigators often look at their careers compared to other lawyers and say “with tax law all that is at stake is money.” On the surface, this appears to be true because tax is about money, unlike criminal law where someone’s freedom can be at issue. However, it is important to acknowledge while tax is about money, it can be more than that to a client and we as tax lawyers need to be prepared for situations where a client’s mental health is at issue.

On December 14th, 2021, the Department of Finance released draft legislation for the Digital Services Tax Act (Act) alongside the Economic and Fiscal Update 2021. The Act imposes a digital services tax (DST) of 3% on annual revenues from large businesses providing certain digital services. The DST is slated to apply to certain revenues earned as of January 1st, 2022, but businesses will not be liable for the tax earlier than January 1st, 2024.

On November 26, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) rendered its judgment in Canada v. Alta Energy Luxembourg S.A.R.L., 2021 SCC 49. In a 6-to-3 majority decision, the SCC upheld the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”), finding that the general anti-avoidance rule (the “GAAR”) did not apply to an alleged “treaty shopping” arrangement undertaken by the taxpayer.

Supreme Court of Canada unanimously rules that Loblaw Financial Holdings Inc. was entitled to benefit from the “financial institution” exception in the “foreign accrual property income” tax rules.

This year's annual What You Missed While You Were Away program was organized and chaired by Lisa Watzinger and Hennadiy Kutsenko with presenters Joan Jung, Lesley L’Heureux, and Christopher Anderson.