The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal in the Garron case: see Fundy Settlement v Canada, 2012 SCC 14, which I wrote about here.
Goodwill and estate planning
Mark Brohman at Durward Jones Barkwell was kind enough to send to me a reminder in the form of a technical interpretation of a very important fact about goodwill and estate planning.
Garron leave granted
The Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal in St. Michael Trust Corp. v. The Queen, 2010 FCA 309, aff’g Garron Family Trust v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 450.
159(5) election
The 159(5) election permits an estate to pay “death taxes” (taxes owing as a result of the 70(5) deemed disposition) over ten years. The election must be filed, however, by the due date for the deceased’s terminal return. The election…
The Initiative
The following article appeared in the February, 2011, edition of the Hamilton Law Association Law Journal.
The CRA likes to stir things up every now and then with this project or that initiative to ensure compliance among various groups of taxpayers. The latest stirring relates to trusts and their administration, and it serves as a sharp reminder to lawyers that tax compliance is not only the province of accountants.
CRA Trusts Initiative
I spoke at an Ontario Bar Association conference on October 2 along with David Louis from Minden Gross (among others). David’s presentation included some discussion of the CRA trust audit initiative about which we’ve heard so much. David had contacted the CRA’s Toronto TSO about the initiative, and it told him the following:
Death Benefits or Not
When is a ‘death benefit’ not a ‘death benefit’? Apparently, when it is a benefit received under the Canada Pension Plan.
Trusts and capital dividends
Is a trust required to file a tax return where the trust’s only ‘income’ is a capital dividend?
HLA Paper on Trusts and Estates
I delivered a paper last week at the Hamilton Law Association‘s trusts and estates update. My paper focused on tax issues, of course. The session was very well attended, with well over 100 members of the local bar present.
Dividend Caps
Sometimes we receive instructions for incorporation that include a request to create shares with a fixed redemption amount and a right to receive unlimited dividends. We generally advise against creating such shares, especially if they are to be used in a freeze, because we are concerned that the fair market value of such a share will not be equal to its redemption amount, especially if the share will be held by a controlling shareholder.