SimpsonWigle Law LLP Tax News

In Skinner v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 269, the taxpayer had reported as income in 2001 a large shareholder loan that had not been repaid. In 2002, the taxpayer attempted to deduct the amount previously included in income because the shareholder loan had been repaid. The Minister reassessed to reduce the taxpayer’s income in 2001 by reversing the inclusion for the shareholder loan. The Minister also reassessed to deny the deduction in 2002 because, after giving effect to the reassessment for 2001, the requirements of paragraph 20(1)(j) had not been met. The taxpayer appealed to the Tax Court of Canada, but the appeal was dismissed essentially on procedural grounds. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I gave a speech to the CRA tax consultation group on tax cases of interest. Joe Monaco and I wrote the speech. You can get a pdf copy here. I believe that all of the cases mentioned in the presentation are under appeal!

I spoke yesterday on Garron and Antle at the Hamilton Law Association’s annual trusts and estates seminar.

The cartoonist Andrew Donato donated his cartoons and claimed a tax credit for the fair market value of them. The CRA didn’t dispute the amount of the credit he could claim, but it took the position that he had realized a capital gain on making the gift. The Tax Court agreed with the CRA in Donato v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 590. Read the rest of this entry »

Some clients hate lawyers because the lawyers insist on charging more than $0.99 per hour. I can live with that kind of hatred.

On the other hand, some clients “hate” lawyers for good reason, at least according to this post: “Top 10 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers“.

Given the economic climate, it’s not surprising that we are receiving a lot questions about allowable business investment losses (ABILs). Nor is it surprising that many taxpayers find it difficult to claim ABILs, given the many pitfalls. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been posting articles to this blog for more than four years, and, to my surprise, it hasn’t become old for me yet. That said, I am pleased to welcome a new blogger to the site. Nathan Green is a law student at Queen’s, and he will be articling with us starting in 2010. Nathan has just posted an interesting article on a recent Tax Court case, US health care reform and the Canada-US treaty. Welcome Nathan.

A recent Tax Court of Canada decision raises concerns of double taxation in proposed US health care reforms.  The case is Niemeijer v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 624. Read the rest of this entry »

In Canada Trustco Mortgage Company v. The Queen, 2008 TCC 482, aff’d 2009 FCA 267, the Tax Court held that a financial institution must comply with a requirement to pay even where the the funds sought to be seized from the institution were held in a lawyer’s trust account. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not often that a CRA audit makes headlines: Canada Revenue probe focuses on some RBC DS clients.

Taxpayers who participated in ‘retail’ donation tax shelters continue to fare poorly in the Tax Court. See Maréchaux v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 587. Read the rest of this entry »