In Pillon v R, 2024 FCA 24, the Court upheld a Tax Court finding that the taxpayer “acted in concert” with a tax debtor to whom she was not related so that section 160 applied. The taxpayer and the tax…
Costs against appellant in “unwinnable appeal”
In Nixon v R, 2024 TCC 4, the Court awarded costs of about $165,000 against the appellant for, among other things, misleading the Court about key facts, refusing to admit key facts and filing “an unwinnable appeal” (paras 20ff).
Director due diligence
Jafarnia v R, 2023 TCC 171, restates a hard truth for directors of private corporations: you will not avoid liability for unremitted source deductions if you fail to remit them because you believe the business will turn around and money…
Rectification post-Fairmont
In Slightham et al. v. AGC, 2023 ONSC 6193 (which I also discuss here), the Court granted rectification of two trust deeds where the applicants were able to prove that the deeds did not accurately reflect the intentions of the…
55(3.01)(g) butterflies
The authors describe a scenario where Aco and Bco own 85% and 15% respectively of Opco. Opco cannot spin-off its real property to Realco where Aco and Bco become direct 85/15 shareholders of Realco. 55(3)(a) will not apply because Bco…
Mandatory disclosure rules (MDR) – CRA guidance
The authors provide notes on the CRA’s updated guidance on the MDR. Taxpayers must report a series of transactions that includes a notifiable transaction if the series straddles the date the transaction is designated as such. The CRA list of…
Scams and tax
In an email spoofing attack, an employee of a business might share important financial information with, or send money to a, a fraudster because the employee has received an email from the fraudster masquerading as the employee’s boss. In a…
Employee loans
The CRA has published a document on its website about employee debt.
Deans Knight applied
In R v. MMV Capital Partners Inc., 2023 FCA 234, the Court applied GAAR to a scheme where five of the original shareholders of the taxpayer maintained de jure control but an arm’s length party acquired 99% of the corporation’s…
Rectification success
In Slightham et al. v. AGC, 2023 ONSC 6193, the Court granted rectification of a trust deed that inadvertently prohibited the allocation of income derived from Opco to Holdco, which was a beneficiary of the trust. The parties had intended…