One of my favourite tax quotes is the following, which was written by the judge in J.F. Newton Ltd. v. Riddell, 45 D.T.C. 5276, 2 C.T.C. 91, 50 B.L.R. 136, 1990 CanLII 933 (BC S.C.), who was forced to…
The HST in Ontario
Do I dare to write about the HST? I don’t, much, because I don’t know much about it. Nonetheless, let me share with you an insight about the Ontario HST that might make your practice life a little easier.
Tax Wiki
Professor Ben Alarie at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (my alma mater, I’m proud to say) has started a tax wiki, which is meant to help “Canadians confused with complicated tax laws”.
Interest deductibility
A wife pays interest under a line of credit that her husband used to buy shares in a business. Can the wife deduct the interest? Not according to Bernacchi v. The Queen, 2010 TCC 306, unsurprisingly: All in all, I…
File this under “Yikes!”
Accountants who recommended tax shelters and earned commissions for doing so that weren’t disclosed to their clients need to think twice about their bank account balances. In Lemberg v. Perris, 2010 ONSC 3690, the Ontario Superior Court ordered an Oakville…
DIY Prescribed Rate
The Income Tax Act in numerous places requires interest to be paid, either by the taxpayer or the Minister, on certain overdue amounts. The rate applicable is computed by reference to the “prescribed rate”. The Act also provides for calculating certain kinds of benefits by reference to that same rate. The rate fluctuates each calendar quarter. Usually, the CRA publishes the rate on its website well in advance of each quarter. For some reason, however, the CRA has still not published the rate for 2010 Q3. What is a poor tax adviser to do?
How to be an effective client
Sometimes clients give me the impression that they think that once they have handed over a matter to me, their work is done: they can just sit back and watch me do my thing. Of course, nothing is further from…
Chances of Winning at the Tax Court of Canada
If the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) challenges your return and you can’t afford a tax lawyer, how likely are you to win your case? Does hiring a lawyer help your chances?
Self-Assessment
In Rezler v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 609, the taxpayer made excess contributions to her RRSP. On appeal, the Tax Court judge responded as follows:
Partnership freeze
Tax Topics number 1984 (March 18, 2010) has an interesting article on estate freezes using partnerships in light of Krauss v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 597.