When a limited partner sells property to the limited partnership, is the limited partner itself a purchaser of that property, or is the only purchaser the general partner on behalf of the limited partnership? That is the question which the British Columbia Court of Appeal recently addressed in Edenvale Restoration Specialists Ltd. v. British Columbia… → Read More
Category Archives: Tax
Subscribe to Tax RSS FeedUK Supreme Court Declines to Recognize Legal Advice Privilege for Accountants
Posted in Case Comments, Procedure, TaxIn a watershed ruling that is sure to have implications throughout Canada, the UK Supreme Court has held that legal advice (or “solicitor-client”) privilege does not attach to communications between accountants or other non-legal professionals and their clients. The decision in Prudential holds this to be the case even where the communications involve legal advice which the… → Read More
Follow My Lead: The SCC Rules on the Role of Its Own Precedents
Posted in Case Comments, TaxAre lower courts obliged to follow precedents of the Supreme Court of Canada, even if those precedents are decades-old and have been the subject of extensive criticism? And when should the Court overrule one of its own precedents? The Court recently addressed both of these questions in Canada v. Craig, a tax case involving the… → Read More
SCC Pulls Back the Curtain on Trust Residence
Posted in Case Comments, TaxBackground The Supreme Court of Canada has recently clarified in Fundy Settlement v. Canada that for the purposes of Canadian taxation the residence of a trust is where the central mind and management resides. This decision, confirming both the Tax Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal lower court decisions, is a major… → Read More
Rectification of Contracts in Québec: Another Loss for Taxation Authorities and Final Word to be Received from the Supreme Court
Posted in Case Comments, Contracts, TaxAs was already mentioned in the previous blog posted on October 25, 2011 by our colleague, Brandon Kain, the Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal in a case involving the rectification of contracts in Agence du revenu du Québec vs. Services environnementaux AES Inc. Recently, the Supreme Court of Canada also granted… → Read More
SCC to Consider Rectification of Contracts
Posted in Case Previews, Contracts, TaxThe Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal in a case involving the rectification of contracts. The appeal in Services Environnementaux raises the question of whether Quebec law permits the rectification of agreements, in a manner that is retroactively enforceable against tax authorities, when their written terms diverge from the common intentions of the parties…. → Read More
FCA to Consider Deductibility of Contributions to a Sickness and Accident Insurance Plan for Single Employee
Posted in Case Previews, TaxAre contributions to a particular sickness and accident insurance plan for a single employee deductible for tax purposes? The Federal Court of Appeal will decide that issue when it hears the taxpayer’s appeal in Labow v. R. in Ottawa on October 4th. The taxpayer, Dr. Labow, is a surgeon and professor of surgery. With the help… → Read More
Banks Owe No Duty to Cheque Payees: Supreme Court of Canada
Posted in Case Comments, Financial Services, TaxWhat is a cheque? What obligations arise for a bank presented with a cheque or collecting on one? Does the bank answer to the drawer, the payee, or both? These questions were recently put before the Supreme Court of Canada in the context of a demand by the Canada Revenue Agency for remittance of funds… → Read More
FCA to Review Discretion to Decline Band Members Retroactive Tax Relief
Posted in Aboriginal, Administrative, Case Previews, TaxOn September 1, the Attorney General of Canada appealed the finding of the Federal Court in Abraham v. Canada, that the Minister of National Revenue had erred in denying members of the Sagkeeng Band tax relief on wages earned while working in a mill located on former reserve lands. The Band members had contended that relief was due… → Read More
FCA to Determine Tax Consequences of a Broken Amalgamation
Posted in Case Previews, Corporate Law, TaxIn Envision Credit Union v. R, the Federal Court of Appeal will determine whether an amalgamated corporation inherits tax accounts pursuant to common law principles, in the absence of a specific statutory rule. The predecessors of Envision Credit Union, two Vancouver credit unions, amalgamated under B.C. credit union legislation. The amalgamation occurred in a way that did not… → Read More
SCC to Consider the Residence of Trust for Tax Purposes
Posted in Case Previews, Corporate Law, Financial Services, TaxThe residence of trusts and other business entities for income tax purposes has long been a source of confusion. The Supreme Court of Canada will attempt to resolve that confusion in the St. Michael Trust cases, from which it recently granted leave to appeal. Decisions Below The cases arise as conjoined appeals from the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in St…. → Read More
Should Redeemable-Upon-Demand Shares Be Included in Paid-Up Capital or Long-Term Debt?
Posted in Case Comments, Financial Services, TaxOn January 29, 2010, the Appeal division of the Court of Quebec determined that Credit Ford Canada Ltd. did not have to include the $1,170,000,000 worth of retractable shares issued in its paid-up capital (and thus be taxed on it) and could, instead, consider it as a long-term debt. This decision alone made a $2,416,767… → Read More
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