Blog
Corporate Tax Planning
The Taxpayer First Act: IRS Reform Legislation Passed by Senate
After initially being introduced more than a year ago, the Taxpayer First Act has been passed by the House and Senate. The legislation includes a variety of provisions intended to modernize the Internal Revenue Service across a wide range of critical areas including information technology, identity theft protection, and customer service. While it remains to be seen what happens next, it is widely believed that President Trump will sign the bill… Read More
Personal Tax Planning
CRA Collects More than $1 Billion After Cracking Down on Real Estate Tax Evaders
We’ve often blogged about tax issues pertaining to real estate, including the fact that fewer home buyers are purchasing homes in Toronto, Vancouver and other hot markets after the introduction of Foreign Buyers’ Taxes and other measures, how buying property from a non-resident of Canada can have significant tax implications, as well as the tax consequences of owning a cottage, among others. Now, the Star is reporting that… Read More
Cross-Border Estate Planning
Handwritten Wills Discovered More than a Year After Aretha Franklin’s Death
The death of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, rocked the music world last year. As the world mourned the loss of this legendary singer, a legal storm brewed when it initially seemed that she had not left a will or trust delineating what was to happen to her more than $80 million fortune. In the months following her passing it seemed as though the artist’s four sons would be locked in a protracted and… Read More
Personal Tax Planning
Newly Released Statistics Reveal that Fewer Foreign Buyers are Buying Homes in the GTA
We’ve previously blogged about measures being implemented in various jurisdictions across Canada intended to cool down the housing market and address affordability by taxing foreign buyers. Among such measures was a Foreign Buyer’s Tax introduced in British Columbia (and separately also within Vancouver). We also blogged about creative ways that foreign buyers have been attempting to circumvent measures such as the Foreign Buyer’s Tax. Much like in BC, Ontario has its own foreign… Read More
Corporate Tax Planning
New Report Calls for Increased Regulation to Address Money-Laundering in Canada
This week, CBC News is reporting that lax regulations have made Canada a prime location for money laundering. These headlines come in the wake of a recent report issued by well-known policy think-tank C.D. Howe Institute titled “Why We Fail to Catch Money Launderers 99.9 percent of the Time” in which the Institute highlights ways in which Canada has been deficient in fighting money laundering. Why Money… Read More