ARTICLES
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By: Alexandra Tzannidakis In the public mind, the idea of tax credits for giving to ‘good causes’ sometimes leads to confusion and conflation of charitable tax credits and political tax credits. The truth is that charities and political causes are legally very distinct concepts (there is no such thing as a political charity) and although…
Read MoreA recent judgment from the Ontario Court of Appeal provides a good reminder to factor in the risk of paying costs before deciding whether to litigate a matter. In Sawdon Estate v Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada et al.[1], the court awarded a type of ‘blended’ costs that are outside the usual…
Read MoreBy: Alexandra Tzannidakis The Supreme Court of Canada has granted Julie Guindon leave to appeal from a Federal Court of Appeal decision that held section 163.2 penalties against tax advisers are not “penal” and therefore do not attract section 11 Charter rights. Our readers may recall that we have written about this important case in…
Read MoreAdvisers acting for federal not-for-profit corporations take heed: you have a deadline of October 17, 2014, by which to switch over (or “continue”) to the new Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. The changeover period has been running since 2011 and this year is your last chance to comply… and yet, less than 10% of affected corporations…
Read Moreby: Alexandra Tzannidakis EquiGenesis Corporation and its owner, a corporate commercial lawyer by the name of Kenneth Gordon, have filed a statement of claim against the CRA and one of its senior auditors. The corporation is claiming substantial damages from the CRA for intentional delays and disregard of its own policies that injured EquiGenesis’s business.…
Read MoreBy: Alexandra Tzannidakis In November 2012, the Tax Court of Canada added an interesting new twist to the epic story of Canada Revenue Agency versus tax shelters with its decision in Berg v The Queen.[1] The story is an old one. Every year, many Canadian taxpayers are seduced by the quick profit and respectable veneer…
Read MoreWhile Federal not-for-profit corporations are still adjusting to the new Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA), their Provincially-incorporated counterparts in Ontario are about to face a similar change when the Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act(ONCA) comes into force later this year. The two pieces of legislation are similar-yet-different enough to confuse the uninitiated. Their slightly misaligned schemes of financial review…
Read MoreBy: Alexandra Tzannidakis Back in 2010, Bill C-28 (Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam) was passed by Parliament and received royal assent. It was expected to come into force in 2012, but delays in drafting the regulations mean that 2012 has come and gone without a coming-into-force date having been announced. This delay gives Canadian businesses,…
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