Taxation

Practice

Tax Court Of Canada is not ‘slap-dash,' nor tolerates sloppy examination for discovery

David J Rotfleisch explains why the Tax Court of Canada, in Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. v The King, 2025, dismissed the CRA's motion for a new nominee
Thought Leaders

Oh, what a tangled web: The taxation of foreign affiliates

Allan Lanthier examines a dispute before the Tax Court of Canada involving Brookfield Corporation and controlled foreign affiliates in Bermuda and Barbados
Municipal

New Brunswick: New municipal fiscal framework announced by N.B. government

Expanded funding from the province is welcome news to New Brunswick municipalities, but a property assessment freeze has withered its delivery
Practice

Loss-trading transactions to avoid paying tax disallowed by Tax Court Of Canada (GAAR rule)

In Total Energy Services v. HMK, the FCA upheld a Tax Court ruling that complex transactions satisfied three conditions of the general anti-avoidance rule
Business

Number of St. Catharines properties in tax arrears soars under current council

Recent property tax increases not due to inflationary pressures impacting most residents across Ontario but largely due instead to excessive labour costs
Business

Property taxes in Whitehorse, explained

The Yukon calculates property taxes differently than in other parts of Canada, primarily due to a lack of data, which impairs market value assessments
Practice

Case Commentary: Ayre v the King – Convoluted charitable gifts made through questionable financing transactions

Canadian tax lawyer and accountant David J Rotfleisch examines donative intent under Section 118.1 of the Income Tax Act in a pharmaceutical donation case
Profession

Sunday News Roundup 25.04.27: Election tax talk, CRA mishaps, PCAOB gutting, and more Canadian accounting news

Our weekly Canadian accounting news roundup includes tax commentary during the federal election campaign, the end of the PCAOB, mishaps at the CRA and more
Business

Brampton: The Carbon Tax Gamble – The ‘cost of climate inaction’ will be bigger than short-term relief at the pump

A feature report from Brampton, Ontario on the history of carbon pricing in Canada and how the consumer carbon tax was sacrificed in a political chess game
Thought Leaders

Why tax literacy should be a national priority in Canada

Now is the time for Canada to advance tax literacy, as both authorities and society as a whole can strengthen democracy and build a more informed public
Business

Alberta: Working group to explore unpaid oil and gas property tax problem

After months of sustained pressure from municipalities and media, Alberta has announced a working group to solve issue of unpaid oil and gas property taxes
Practice

Case Commentary: Canada v. Csak – Why filing a waiver for a tax reassessment must be done within the normal reassessment period

Closing a dispute that had lasted for more than 10 years, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned a Tax Court waiver decision, explains David J Rotfleisch
Thought Leaders

Who really killed Canada’s carbon tax? Friends and foes alike

While the tax could be replaced by an equally effective tool, its repeal increases uncertainty about Canada’s ability to support climate change mitigation
Practice

New guidance from the CRA: Transactions subject to the GAAR

The Canada Revenue Agency is now offering guidance on the application of the amended GAAR through a webpage, explains Raffaella Garofalo of Miller Thomson
Practice

Case Commentary: Onischuk v. The King – Tax Court rules cannot override CRA's statutory requirements

A nil assessment is an objection exception because it is not an assessment and hence cannot be objected to or appealed from, explains David J Rotfleisch
Business

Alberta: Municipalities want end to oil and gas property tax loopholes

Rural Municipalities of Alberta says it’s well-known in the oil and gas sector that municipalities are powerless to compel payment of unpaid property taxes
Business

Poilievre vows to kill industrial carbon pricing in ‘desperate’ move against Liberal surge

The central plank of Ottawa’s emission-reduction plan requires companies to pay a carbon price if they exceed a certain threshold of emissions intensity
Practice

Case Commentary: Uppal Estate v. the King upholds procedural fairness for Canadian taxpayers in tax litigation

The decision emphasizes the duty of the CRA in Tax Court pleadings and serves as a procedural safeguard for Canadian taxpayers explains David J Rotfleisch
Thought Leaders

Trump, tariffs and Canadian tax strategies: There must be 50 ways to leave your country

Allan Lanthier explains how some Canadian corporations have redomiciled to the United States and why there may be more to come unless changes are made
Practice

Top 10 need-to-know Canadian income tax cases from 2024

From Dow Chemical to Coopers Park, Dominic Bédard-Lapointe, Anu Koshal and Al-Nawaz Nanji of McCarthy Tétrault review each case and its impact on taxation
Practice

A widow is not a spouse: Canadian court saves widow from the CRA's $100,000 derivative tax assessment

In Enns V Canada, 2025 FCA 14, the timing of an RRSP transfer was critical to the decision, explains Canadian accountant and tax lawyer David J Rotfleisch
Business

B.C. Conservatives pitch a carbon tax on U.S. coal as a trade-war measure

B.C. doesn’t use the American thermal coal that passes through its ports, but the province is a key player in the global coal market, moving US coal to Asia
Business

Two Atlantic premiers resign amid Canada's economic turmoil

Four years of trade wars and tariffs from the Trump administration could slash East Coast jobs and bring misery to Maritime premiers says political analyst
Business

Thunder Bay: 307 property owners owe $3 million in uncollected taxes

Muncipalities auction properties for the amount in property taxes owed (with a minimum tender bid) and will advertise sales in local and government media
Business

Ontario: Businesses, parents comment on tax holiday

While small business owners have mixed emotions about the tax holiday, some working parents were grateful for the beneficial break on goods and services