Tax & Trade Blog

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TCC: DISCOVERY QUESTIONS NEED ANSWERS!

BROAD DISCOVERY RULES CAN WORK FOR TAXPAYERS TOO

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Taxpayers who appeal to the Tax Court of Canada (“TCC”) under the General Procedure must submit to Examinations for Discovery (“Discovery”) and must answer “any proper question relevant to any matter in issue”: see Rule 95(1). That means virtually any question relevant to the appeal must be answered, aside from those subject to Solicitor-Client Privilege. This obligation continues even if the relevant business has been sold, the knowledgeable employees have left, or key documents are hard to find.

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TCC: THE CRA CAN HAVE ITS CAKE AND EAT IT TOO!

TCC CONFIRMS THE CRA CAN TAX HOUSE FLIPS WHILE DENYING OFFSETTING ITCs

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When auditing many isolated residential real estate developments, the Canada Revenue Agency ("CRA") often insists on having its cake and eating it too: it assesses GST on the full selling price of a newly constructed home but denies the vendor every single Input Tax Credit ("ITC") on their selling costs.

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CAN I KEEP MY TAX APPEAL CONFIDENTIAL?

FCA CONFIRMS THAT TAX COURT CAN SEAL DOCUMENTS AT DISCOVERY STAGE!

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When initiating complicated Tax Appeals, one of the questions that sophisticated clients often have (often unfortunately well into the process) is whether they can keep sensitive commercial documents “confidential”. That seems like a simple question, but it has a long and somewhat turgid answer involving the Open Court Principle and special rules in the Tax and Federal Courts for confidentiality-orders.

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CHATBOTS ARE DANGEROUS FOR PRIVILEGE!

US COURT CONCLUDES USE OF AI IN LITIGATION MAY PUT PRIVILEGE AT RISK

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Canadian Courts are still trying to wrap their minds around AI and Solicitor-Client Privilege, with not a lot out there right now. The US appears to be on the forefront of this issue, however, with a District Court decision in United States v. Heppner (No. 25 Cr. 503, S.D.N.Y. 2026) (“Heppner”) highlighting the dangers of clients relying on AI for their legal analysis – or legal defences – without first engaging a dues paying lawyer.

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NO EXCUSE FOR MISSED CRA PORTAL ALERTS

TCC CONFIRMS BUSINESS CARRIES ALL THE RISK WHEN DIGITAL PORTALS IGNORED

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A recent Tax Court of Canada (“TCC”) case highlights the harsh consequences of failing to monitor an online Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) portal, like MyCRA or My Business Account. In Web Listings Inc. v. His Majesty the King, 2026 TCC 101 (“Web Listings”), the TCC confirmed that if a business’s authorized representative receives online portal notifications and ignores them, the tax consequences for the business are severe.

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HOUSE FLIPPING & BRIEF OCCUPANCY

TCC FINDS TWO RENOVATED HOMES HELD AS INVENTORY – NOT RESIDENCES

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As we have noted before (here and here), the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) continues to audit residential homeowners who build or substantially renovate homes for resale, regularly assessing them as “builders” liable to pay GST/HST.

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HOUSE FLIPPING & SALES HISTORY

TCC FINDS HOUSE HELD AS INVENTORY DESPITE OCCUPANCY

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As we blogged about here, the CRA continues to pursue homeowners and builders who buy, renovate or construct, and resell residential properties, often finding them liable to collect and remit GST/HST as “builders” under the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”).

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NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT NOT RECEIVED. CAN I APPEAL?

TAX COURT SETS FOUR-STEP PROCESS FOR GETTING NOTICES OF OBJECTION BACK ON TRACK

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When it comes to filing a Notice of Objection (an “Objection”) in respect of a Notice of Assessment (an “NOA”) for GST/HST or income tax matters – or many other matters involving federal taxes – most taxpayers will know that they generally have a 90-day window to file that Objection.

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LATE TAX OBJECTIONS FACE STRICT DEADLINES

NO SECOND CHANCES WHEN APPLYING FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO OBJECT

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A Notice of Objection (“NoO”) may be filed late – but ONLY if certain conditions and deadlines are met. Many taxpayers are unaware of the ability to apply for a late filing, and equally unaware that when THOSE deadlines are missed, it is all over!