Joe Monaco and I spend a good deal of time handling cases before the Tax Court of Canada because sometimes the CRA just will not listen to reason. Before filing an appeal, however, the client should understand something about the process. To that end, the following table provides a simplified outline of a General Procedure income tax appeal. (more…)
Canada’s income tax system aspires to “neutrality” so that, in theory, an individual should be indifferent about whether he earns income directly or through a corporation. The CDA is one of the mechanisms employed to achieve this neutrality. (more…)
A real estate agent provides vouchers for food and entertainment to his clients. The agent does not control how the clients use the vouchers, and he does not consume the food or attend the entertainments provided by the vouchers. Can he deduct in full the amounts spent on the vouchers, notwithstanding the provisions of section 67.1 of the Income Tax Act (Canada)? In The Queen v. Stapley, 2006 FCA 36, the Court said no, the 50% rule applies.
Subsection 171(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the Act) sets out the jurisdiction of the Tax Court in income tax appeals. In general, the subsection does not permit the Tax Court to review the process by which the Minister arrives at an assessment. Rather, the Tax Court is empowered to determine only whether the amount of tax assessed is correct. It appears that even the Charter of Rights does not change this position: see Burrows v. The Queen, 2005 TCC 761 (not yet available online). (more…)
