Tax & Trade Blog

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TAX LITIGATION 201: CHOICE OF VENUE

NOT ALL CRA DISCRETIONARY DECISIONS GO TO FEDERAL COURT!

Since the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2024 decisions in Iris Technologies and Dow Chemical, many taxpayers and tax practitioners have become well aware that the Tax Court of Canada is not a ”one-stop shop” for tax disputes. 

The rule of thumb for "jurisdiction" is that most tax cases go to the Tax Court of Canada, but that CRA discretionary decisions must be challenged in the Federal Court.

As we see in the Ingredion case dealt with below, that may not ALWAYS be the case – and it introduced a third possible jurisdiction in some cases:  Provincial Superior Courts!

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TAX OBJECTION DECISIONS TAKING LONGER

POST COVID, CRA APPEALS BRANCH SLAMMED WITH NEW WORK!

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently released its 2025-26 Departmental Plan (“the Report”), outlining its priorities and recent performance.  It reveals a critical piece of information that should serve as a warning for all taxpayers: the CRA is being overwhelmed by Notices of Objections (“NoOs”) and is struggling to keep up.

As we report on below, large businesses with complex tax issues are likely to suffer the most.

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ENABLERS TARGETED BY CRA & CBSA ALIKE

RECENT ACTION ON CAR THEFTS EASILY TRANSLATES TO TAX & CUSTOMS MATTERS

Recent news reports about Project Chickadee – the OPP and CBSA joint project aimed at dismantling organized car theft rings exporting stolen Canadian vehicles overseas – focused on an effort to target not only the direct causes of these thefts (the gangs stealing the vehicles), but also the ENABLER:  freight forwarding companies, shipping companies, and other intermediaries effectively aiding and abetting the process.

The Canadian government’s ability to intervene in situations that it does not ultimately like (i.e., tax schemes, GST shams, tariff fraud) knows no bounds.   And the government’s response does not always require joint work with the OPP or RCMP, but can come in much more innocuous ways. 

In this report, we examine a couple of ways in which Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) and Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) can target persons indirectly associated with GST or customs non-compliance.

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TAX AUDITS NOT ALWAYS CORRECT

CRA DATA SHOWS THE MAJORITY OF TAX AUDITS OVERTURNED!

When most taxpayers receive a Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), they likely have the following concern: what did I do wrong? That first instinct – although likely well-founded in the human psyche – ends up being a statistically incorrect assumption. In fact, the most recent data from the CRA suggests that the majority of CRA Assessments are INCORRECT and are ultimately overturned on Objection.

This Tax Audits Series Report reflects on this data and its implications and “best practices” for taxpayers.

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CRA GST & INCOME TAX AUDITS

UNDERSTANDING A CRA AUDITOR'S POWERS & METHODS

As most people understand, “Audits” are the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) primary tool for verifying voluntary compliance with Canada’s taxing legislation, including the Excise Tax Act (ETA) for GST purposes, and the Income Tax Act (ITA) for income tax obligations.

Less well known is the scope of the CRA’s powers when it comes to demanding answers to its questions and reviewing business records.  In this Tax Audits Series Report, we examine these broad powers, and what taxpayers can expect when audited.