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Admissibility of Accountant’s Statements in Court: the Spears Case
Jul 20 2016 - An out-of-court statement is generally inadmissible as evidence in court to prove the truth of the statement’s contents – this is the general rule against hearsay. There are a number of exceptions to this rule including an admission – where a p...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/admissibility-of-accountant-s-statements-in-court-the-spears-case.html -
ITCs and Supplier Nominees: The SNF Case
Jul 19 2016 - There has been significant jurisprudence on the extent to which recipients are entitled to ITCs in respect of GST paid to so called “rogue suppliers” – suppliers who collect but fail to remit GST to the fisc. The CRA has often taken the positio...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/itcs-and-supplier-nominees-the-snf-case.html -
CRA Not Entitled to Privileged Documents: Supreme Court of Canada
Jul 15 2016 - The principle of solicitor-client privilege holds that communications between a client and his or her lawyer cannot be compelled to be disclosed without permission of the client. Although this principle started as an evidentiary rule, it ...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/cra-not-entitled-to-privileged-documents-supreme-court-of-canada.html -
CRA Assessing Taxicab Fleet Management Companies for “Re-Supplying” Insurance
Jun 06 2016 - CRA has recently been issuing assessments to taxicab fleet management companies for failing to charge GST/HST on pass-through insurance premium expenses. ...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/cra-assessing-taxicab-fleet-management-companies-for-re-supplying-insurance.html -
Tax Litigation and the Implied Undertaking Rule: The Samaroo Case
May 05 2016 - Disgruntled taxpayers have often attempted to seek remedies against tax authorities through civil actions – albeit with very limited success. A 2014 BC Supreme Court’s decision in Leroux v. CRA (2014 BCSC 720) did confirm that CRA owes a duty o...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/tax-litigation-and-the-implied-undertaking-rule-the-samaroo-case.html -
Dangers of Relying on CRA Auditor Advice
Apr 14 2016 - When faced with Notices of Assessment from CRA that run contrary to a particular tax practice, taxpayers often defend their practice on the basis that CRA had not previously taken issue with it. For tax litigators it is common to hear from clie...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/dangers-of-relying-on-cra-auditor-advice.html -
New Brunswick 2% HST Increase
Apr 12 2016 - New Brunswick is increasing its HST by 2%, effective July 1, 2016, resulting in an HST rate of 15%. Businesses will need to consider which tax rate – the existing HST rate of 13% or the new HST rate of 15%, will apply to transactions that straddle J...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/new-brunswick-2-hst-increase.html -
Purposive Interpretation of New Housing Rebate Rules: The Crooks Case
Mar 30 2016 - Section 254 of the ETA allows the purchaser of a new residential unit to claim a partial GST/HST Rebate (often called a New Housing Rebate – “NHR”). The NHR was intended to off-set GST/HST payable on new housing, back to the point where the GST...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/purposive-interpretation-of-new-housing-rebate-rules-the-crooks-case.html -
Public Service Bodies and ITC Allocation: The U. of Calgary Case
Mar 05 2016 - The concept of claiming input tax credits (“ITC”) for private businesses that provide both taxable and exempt services has recently been explored by the TCC (see for example: Sun Life (2015 TCC 37) and BC Ferry Services (2014 TCC 305)). For rea...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/public-service-bodies-and-itc-allocation-the-u-of-calgary-case.html -
Reinforcement of Integration Approach for Single vs. Multiple Supplies: The Tele-Mobile Case
Nov 24 2015 - The issue of single versus multiple supplies in the context of the GST is the subject of frequent litigation. This is likely attributable to the fairly fact-driven analysis employed by the courts in determining the existence of single or multip...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/reinforcement-of-integration-approach-for-single-vs-multiple-supplies-the-tele-mobile-case.html -
Recent Taxpayer Success on TCC Cost Awards
Oct 22 2015 - Litigating parties must consider cost implications at every stage in litigation, which generally requires a cost-benefit analysis of starting litigation in the first place, proceeding with litigation at any given stage, and negotiating towards settle...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/recent-taxpayer-success-on-tcc-cost-awards.html -
Director Liability in Context of a “Carousel Scheme”: The Cherniak Case
Aug 31 2015 - Although section 323 of the Excise Tax Act imposes joint and several liability onto the corporate director for a corporation’s failure to remit GST/HST, this liability is negated if the director “exercised the degree of care, diligence and skill to p...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/director-liability-in-context-of-a-carousel-scheme-the-cherniak-case.html -
Perils of Appointing Uninvolved Spouse as Director
Aug 22 2015 - In light of the inherent risks of serving as director of a corporation, business owner-operators may be tempted to appoint their spouse or family member as the sole director of their corporation, despite the fact that that person may be completely un...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/perils-of-appointing-uninvolved-spouse-as-director.html -
Onus of Proof: Derivative Assessments
Jul 16 2015 - As a general rule in tax litigation, the initial onus is on the appellant-taxpayer to “demolish” the Minister’s assumptions that form the basis of the disputed assessment. This initial onus is met where the appellant makes out at least a prima facie ...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/onus-of-proof-derivative-assessments.html -
ITC Allocation: The BC Ferry Case
Jun 19 2015 - Businesses (other than financial institutions) that provide a mix of both taxable and exempt supplies must utilize the allocation rules found in section 141.01(5) of the Excise Tax Act (ETA) to determine the proper amount of input tax credits (ITCs) ...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/itc-allocation-the-bc-ferry-case.html -
Specified Persons Rules and Notices of Objections: The Ford Case
May 31 2015 - Both the Income Tax Act (“ITA”) and the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”) include an increased burden on entities considered “large corporations” or “specified persons”, respectively, when it comes to the level of detail required in a notice of objection. ...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/specified-persons-rules-and-notices-of-objections-the-ford-case.html -
The Role of Intention in ITC Allocation: The Sun Life Case
Apr 13 2015 - Where a business provides both taxable and exempt services, claiming ITCs can become a thorny issue that generally requires an attribution of inputs between the business’ supply of exempt and taxable services. Section 141.01 of the Excise Tax A...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/the-role-of-intention-in-itc-allocation-the-sun-life-case.html -
Tax Court Proper Forum for Determining Whether Notice of Assessment Mailed
Mar 31 2015 - Whether a notice of assessment was mailed or not has important legal consequences for taxpayers. There is an irrebuttable presumption of receipt of the notice of assessment by a taxpayer once it is mailed by the Minister (S,248(7)(a) of the Inc...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/tax-court-proper-forum-for-determining-whether-notice-of-assessment-mailed.html -
HoldCos Benefit From Broad ITC Look-Through Rule
Mar 25 2015 - Input Tax Credits (“ITCs”) are typically not available for “holding companies” that exist solely to hold shares or indebtedness of another company due to the fact that taxpayers are only entitled to ITCs in respect of tax paid on property or services...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/holdcos-benefit-from-broad-itc-look-through-rule.html -
GST Treatment of Management Fee Distributions and Rebates: The Invesco Case
Jan 31 2015 - In Invesco Canada Ltd. v. The Queen (2014 TCC 375), CRA assessed the taxpayer for GST, arising out an arrangement designed to minimize income tax. Specifically, at issue was a determination of the value of the consideration paid for the supply ...
https://www.taxandtradelaw.com/Tax-Trade-Blog/gst-treatment-of-management-fee-distributions-and-rebates-the-invesco-case.html