SimpsonWigle Law LLP Tax News

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. (more…)

Subsection 162(2.1) of the Income Tax Act provides for a penalty for a non-resident corporation that fails to file a return and that it is liable to a penalty under subsections 162(1) or (2). The penalties provided by the latter subsections are computed as a percentage of tax payable. What happens if no tax is payable and so no penalty is applicable under the latter subsections? Does the 162(2.1) penalty still apply? (more…)

eBay Canada Ltd. v. Canada (National Revenue), 2008 FCA 348 is now available on CanLII. The Court held that information on servers in the U.S. is not foreign-based information. (more…)

Michael Van Severen, who is a member of the cross-border tax services group at KPMG in Hamilton, was kind enough to forward to me a “Tax Tip-Off” (I thought it said “Tax Rip-Off” when I first received it). The tip reads in part:

Many Canadian businesses that ship products into the state of Michigan may now be surprised to learn that they are subject to the gross receipts tax component of the Michigan Business Tax (MBT). Also, many Canadian businesses that historically did not have any Michigan sales under the old sourcing rules may now have Michigan sales for purposes of determining apportionment for the MBT and therefore may have a significant MBT liability if total Michigan sales are more than $350,000 during the year.

According to the Department of Finance website, “Canada Supports U.S. Technical Explanation of the Fifth Protocol to the Canada-United States Income Tax Convention“.

In Marchan v. The Queen, 2008 TCC 158, the taxpayer received stock options from the U.S. parent of the Canadian subsidiary for which he worked in Canada. He exercised the options and sold the underlying securities, but the brokers handling the transactions withheld amounts from his proceeds, presumably on account of U.S. taxes. The taxpayer tried to claim a foreign tax credit. (more…)

In Sentinel Hill No. 29 Limited Partnership v. Canada (Attorney General), 2008 ONCA 132, the Ontario Court of Appeal held that the Superior Court is not the place to resolve disputes involving assessments under the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the “Act”). That much is not surprising: in general, non-tax courts run as fast as they can from tax disputes, given the chance. The case illustrates, however, a nasty gotcha in international taxation that any practitioner who does cross border work should watch out for. (more…)

The CRA issued a couple of news releases yesterday. One of them warned about RSP “scams”, and the other announced that the CRA had issued a notice of suspension to ‘International Charity Association Network.’

The Department of Finance announced today that it has appointed a panel on Canada’s international taxation system.

Finance just announced that “Canada’s New Government Sign[ed] Protocol to the Canada-U.S Tax Treaty for the Benefit of Canadians”. The news release summarizes the changes implemented as follows: (more…)

Last week’s CCH Tax Topics has an interesting article on limited liability companies (LLCs) in light of the B.C. Supreme Court’s decision in Boliden Westmin Ltd. et al. v. The Queen, 2007 BCSC 351. (more…)