Tax & Trade Blog

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CRA REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION

RFI ONE OF CRA'S MOST POWERFUL TOOLS – AND MAY SOON GET MORE POWERFUL

A Request for Information (RFI) is the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) formal written request for answers and documents which it subsequently uses as the factual foundation of its Audit.

In the previous entry in our Tax Audits Series, we provided practical guidance on responding to initial communications from the CRA. In this entry, we dive deeper into RFIs specifically, which are one of CRA’s most powerful tools in the early stages of an Audit.

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PROCEDURAL RULES TRUMP INDIGENOUS TAX RIGHTS?

FCA: BEFORE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS ASSERTED, NORMAL PROCESS TO BE FOLLOWED

Our Indirect Tax Practice often involves the intersection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, especially under sections 87-89 of the Indian Act, and tax legislation.

Below, we review Zachary v. Canada, 2026 FCA 55 (“Zachary”), a recent Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) decision ruling that despite the substantive rights afforded by the Indian Act and constitutionally to Canada’s Indigenous Peoples, Status Indians are still required to comply with all “procedural” requirements (e.g. time requirements, Notices of Constitutional Questions, etc.) in the applicable taxing legislation before asserting those substantive rights!

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GATHERING DOCUMENTS BEFORE AN AUDIT

 KNOWING WHAT TO PROVIDE IS KEY - BUT MAY REQUIRE EXPERT LEGAL GUIDANCE

Businesses often respond to the initial communications from the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) without much thought. In the early stage of an Audit, the whole process can seem deceptively casual. Handling things this way can be a huge mistake. Knowing what one is – and is not – required to provide the CRA is often critical to how the Audit progress, especially for large businesses.

In this Tax Audits blog, we review some of the more common hazards for taxpayers during this preliminary, seemingly simple stage of the Audit, and illuminate why the information gathering process can be hugely consequential.

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OECD ADAPTS TO REMOTE WORK ECONOMY

HOME OFFICES AS POTENTIAL PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENTS IN REMOTE WORK ERA

On November 19, 2025, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) released an update to the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital (the “2025 Update”).

Among the changes are important clarifications to the Commentary on Article 5, dealing with the meaning of Permanent Establishment (“PE”) – and more specifically directed at helping determine when an individual’s home office may constitute a PE of the enterprise engaging the worker.

In a world increasingly shaped by remote work, changes like these are timely and likely only the beginning of further developments – and tax audits!

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GROWING GST RISK FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDERS?

PRESSURE TO GRANT GST REBATES NOW A HARBINGER OF AUDIT ISSUES TO COME

A good friend who’s a lawyer in the thick of things in the commercial building space recently prognosticated that with all of the pressure on Commercial Builders to close new home and (particularly) condo deals, they have been granting GST/HST New Housing Rebate credits that may not ultimately pass muster.

We review the latent liability risk that may be facing Commercial Builders below.