My Davies tax group colleagues Chris Anderson and Etyan Dishy (both of whom are former Osgoode students of mine!) have published a terrific article in the latest Canadian Tax Journal on “The Permissibility of Surplus Stripping”. The authors begin with a review of the legislative and judicial context surrounding sections 84.1, 212.1 and subsection […]
Canadian News
The 2021 Canadian Federal Budget
The 2021 Canadian Federal Budget: The Government’s Direction After a long COVID-19 pandemic induced hiatus and occasional less formal economic updates and statements, a Federal Budget was tabled in the House of Commons yesterday, April 19. Entitled “A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience”, it is a lengthy document that no doubt will […]
Another Update on the GAAR: Ontario’s 2021 Budget
The eyes of Canada are on the Supreme Court when it heard Alta Energy on March 19. In its appeal, the Crown invoked the GAAR to challenge an alleged treaty shopping scheme. The hearing was livestreamed and you can find the archived webcast on the Court’s website. A review of the Federal Court of […]
Trading Options in a TFSA: The Blurred Line Between a Permitted Use and “Carrying on a Business”
The pandemic has resulted in accelerated participation in retail trading in the stock market. Retail investors accounted for 45% of total equity trades in January 2021 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, which is an increase from 35% in 2019.[1] Option trading has also become more popular for retail investors; data from the Chicago Board […]
Our Students Make Us Proud - Osgoode Judged the Winner of the 2021 Donald G. H. Bowman National Tax Moot
The Osgoode Hall Law School Team - Miya Zakharchuk, Portia Biswas, Baiqing Luo, Daniel Mount, and Matt Wilson - were the winners yesterday of the 2021 Donald G. H. Bowman National Tax Moot. This is a remarkable, notable success for them and for the Osgoode community which they so ably represented. This Tax Moot […]
The Cameco Transfer Pricing Appeal Ends Today
The Cameco Corporation transfer pricing decisions of the Tax Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal are seminal, not just for Canadian taxation but internationally. The case wrestles with the interaction of private law constructions that lie at the heart of corporate and business organization, on the one hand, and the international […]
Transfer Pricing Conference Day 1 Highlight: Discussions on Recharacterization Rules
On Wednesday, February 3, 2021, the Canadian Tax Foundation hosted its Day 1 Program of the Transfer Pricing Conference virtually. Dialogues between the tax authorities and the private practice sector went back and forth on four panels. The highlight of the discussions was the recharacterization rules in paragraphs 247(2)(b) and (d) of the ITA. […]
Minister Freeland Anticipates Unilateral Action on “Digital Services Taxes”
The “digital economy” is now worth equivalent to ~15% of global GDP according to the World Bank, and so it is little surprise that its rise has sparked global debate - the most critical of which is the discussion regarding the most appropriate, fair, and efficient way of taxing so-called “digital services” which is […]
An Examination of Quebec’s Evolving Patent Box Regime and the OECD’s BEPS Action Plan
Throughout the ongoing review, orchestrated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, of the measurement and allocation of international income, the significance of manifestations of “intangibles” – intangible property in the legal sense but also features of the uniqueness of multinational enterprises and their products and services – have been at the forefront. […]
Joint Tax Filing for Spouses
A threshold issue for the design of any tax system is the taxing unit. In Canada our taxing unit for personal taxation is and has always been the individual. The Carter Commission recommended we change the taxing unit to families (spouses and their dependent children) on the grounds that families constitute the basic economic […]