Procon Mining & Tunnelling Ltd. v R, 2022 TCC 71, includes a useful discussion of the distinction between capital property and inventory. The appellant acquired shares of other corporations in the hope that joint ventures with the other corporations would…
Interest relief
In Belchetz v Canada (National Revenue), 2020 FCA 225, the court considered whether the Minister had properly exercised her discretion to allow relief for 15 of the 30 (!) years for which interest had been outstanding. The issue before the…
Disputes involving losses
Summary of Michael H. Lubetsky “Income Tax Disputes Involving Loss Years: Pitfalls, Foibles, and Possible Reforms” (2019) 67:3 Canadian Tax Journal 499-531. This article won an award from the Canadian Tax Foundation as the best article it published in 2019.…
Case law update
The following are my notes on a case law update from Sal Mirandola given at an OBA taxation law presentation on September 22, 2020 (“Advising your clients amidst financial uncertainty: Summer 2020 tax developments”) For the paper, see ~\Knowledge\Seminar materials\2020…
International tax update
The following are my notes on an international tax update from Steven Suarez given at an OBA taxation law presentation on September 22, 2020 (“Advising your clients amidst financial uncertainty: Summer 2020 tax developments”) For the paper, see ~\Knowledge\Seminar materials\2020…
Joint Committee update
The following are my notes on an update from Angelo Nikolakakis given at an OBA taxation law presentation on September 22, 2020 (“Advising your clients amidst financial uncertainty: Summer 2020 tax developments”) For the paper, see ~\Knowledge\Seminar materials\2020 09 22…
Hockey players and fx trading
The Toronto Star is reporting that Darcy Tucker and Shayne Corson of Toronto Maple Leaf fame engaged in foreign exchange trading a reported losses for tax purposes. The CRA is calling the trading activities a “sham” (which doesn’t mean what…
Section 160 and FMV Consideration
A dental professional corporation (the vendor) sold its professional practice to an arm’s length purchaser. Some of the proceeds from the sale were paid to the shareholder of the corporation (the dentist) who used the funds to pay obligations of…
Taxation of a ‘signing bonus’
In Ritchie v R, 2018 TCC 113, the taxpayer owned land that he rented to a corporation he owned. The corporation carried on a farming business. Enbridge paid amounts to the taxpayer for easements across his land, including $255,790 as an “early signing bonus” (a bonus for signing the easement agreement before a certain date). The taxpayer reported the bonus as a capital gain. The CRA reassessed to include the full amount of the bonus in the taxpayer’s income. Was the bonus on capital account?
Getting tracked
These days, in so many aspects of our lives, we are the product (as the saying goes). Retailers, for example, offer loyalty programs because, among other things, they allow our spending habits to be tracked. It turns out that the…