Corporate Tax Planning
A Tale of Three Cars
A requirement to use your own car at work can allow for associated expenses to be claimed on your income tax returns. However, not everyone is entitled to such claims (for example, you can’t make a claim if an employer already reimburses you), and it is critical to keep detailed records, especially if more than one vehicle is used for work. A recent decision from the Tax Court of Canada highlights… Read More
Corporate Tax Planning
Company Director Escapes Tax Liability After Resigning
Being the director of a company might seem glamorous on the outside, but the role comes with a great deal of responsibility, including personal tax liability should the company find itself unable to comply with its tax obligations. A recent decision from the Tax Court of Canada looks at what is needed for a director to resign and avoid liability for a company’s tax debt. The debt The appellant was the… Read More
Corporate Tax Planning
Deducting an Assistant’s Salary As a Salaried Employee
People who run their own businesses enjoy the ability to deduct a number of expenses from their income, such as instances where a spouse provides work for them in exchange for payment. Salaried employees, however, are not able to make similar claims without jumping through some significant hurdles. A recent decision from the Tax Court of Canada serves to highlight this important distinction. A Full-Time Sales Manager Working From Home The… Read More
Corporate Tax Planning
CRA Targeting Contractors Buying Supplies at Hardware Stores in New Audit
We’ve previously blogged about various actions the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has taken to crackdown on alleged tax evasion in particular industries, including in the bar and restaurant industry. This week, we continue our blog series by looking into a new audit the CRA is undertaking. This time, the agency is undertaking a review into general contractors and those working in the home improvement sector. This new audit represents the latest in a… Read More
Corporate Tax Planning
Recent Jump in Residents Moving from New England to Florida Following Tax Reform
Since the Trump administration’s introduction of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, we have been regularly posting about the new legislation and the impact the tax reform has had on American taxpayers. This week we continue our blog series with a look at how the new tax law may have affected moving trends, particularly of residents from the northeastern states where there are higher taxes, to states such as Florida, which has… Read More
Corporate Tax Planning
A Look at Wealth Tax Proposals in Canada and the U.S.
Ahead of Canada’s federal election last week, we blogged about the tax platforms of Canada’s three largest political parties. One of them, the NDP, had introduced several proposed tax reforms, including a “super-wealth tax“, which would apply a 1% tax rate to any individuals with more than $20 million in wealth. South of the border, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is rapidly becoming a front runner for the Democratic presidential candidate in next… Read More
Corporate Tax Planning
Canada’s Federal Election: What Will it Mean for Your Taxes?
Canada’s federal election is happening on Monday, October 21. What are the top three parties promising in terms of tax proposals and how will this impact Canadians? The Liberals Personal Tax Rates Part of the Liberals’ platform includes a 15% increase in the basic personal tax amount, bringing it to $15,000 by 2023. This amount will be phased out for high-net-worth individuals in the second-highest tax bracket (with income of more than $147,667), and fully… Read More
Corporate Tax Planning
An Update on Canada and the MLI: What’s Next as We Near the Date It Comes Into Force?
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ’s Multilateral Instrument (MLI) is set to come into force on December 1, 2019. This new legislation is set to have an impact on both foreign investors in Canada as well as Canadian companies which invest in countries which have adopted the new law. What is the MLI? We originally blogged about the MLI last year. The MLI is intended to decrease the opportunity for… Read More
Corporate Tax Planning
Uber Canada Reaches Settlement with the CRA in Sales-Tax Dispute
Earlier this year we blogged about a notice of appeal filed by Uber Canada Inc., the Canadian arm of Uber Technologies Inc., in which the company asked the Tax Court of Canada to vacate reassessments made against it by the CRA. Now, Uber Canada Inc. says that it has resolved their “administrative issue” with the CRA, consenting to a judgment on a without costs basis which would permit the company… Read More
Corporate Tax Planning
CRA Report: Canadian Companies Avoided Billions in Taxes
According to a report recently released by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Canadian corporations avoided around $11 billion in corporate taxes in 2014 (between $2.7 billion and $3.5 billion for small companies, and between $6.7 billion and $7.9 billion for bigger companies). The report marks another measure in a series of actions taken by the CRA to look into tax avoidance by corporate and personal tax-payers in Canada, as we’ve previously written about. Read More