Articles 2020

On December 15, the Canada Revenue Agency (the “CRA”) released additional details regarding the availability of employee deductions for work from home expenses and the taxation of certain employer provided employee benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accountants, valuators and anyone else who provides or assists in providing information (to the CRA or to taxpayers) respecting income tax or GST/HST (“Advisors”) should be aware of their potential liability for “advisor penalties." Advisors generally know that their clients could face gross negligence penalties in appropriate cases of “reprehensible recklessness." However, it is less well known that Advisors risk similar penalties if their actions reach “culpable conduct.”

Most industries across the globe have been affected by recent world events. As lawyers, we've had to address new trends and demands in the market, including greater complexity in Canada/U.S. cross-border personal tax and estate planning.

This article considers the interplay between section 80.4, subsection 15(2) and paragraph 20(1)(j) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

AgraCity Ltd. successfully appealed to the Tax Court of Canada from the Minister’s reassessment of its 2007 and 2008 taxation years. AgraCity had entered into a service agreement with a non-arm’s length Barbadian corporation to provide promotional and administrative services in respect of herbicide sales to Canadian farmers.

Manjit is a partner in the tax group at Miller Thomson. She received her law degree from the University of Toronto and was called to the Bar in 2000. Manjit advises on Canadian and cross-border tax matters to public and private companies, partnerships, trusts, private equity and infrastructure funds, pension plans and sovereign wealth funds.

Kathryn Walker discusses strategies for salvaging underwater stock options.

Randy Schwartz and Seth Lim report on the recent Tax Court case Zomaron Inc. v. The Queen (2020 TCC 35).

Under new Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”) legislation, non-arm’s length parties which transact with each other using arm’s length terms – as often required by the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) – are penalized unfairly. This is the result of a definition in the formula which erroneously refers to the “current reference period” when it should refer to the period immediately prior to the “current reference period."