Alexander Marino is quoted in an article titled “‘Scary’: Why US expats are tossing their citizenships – and it’s not just Trump” in The Sydney Morning Herald, November 1, 2024
Kenneth Keung is quoted in the Investment Executive article titled “Quirk in capital gains tax rules raises risks for incorporated clients,” published on July 24, 2024.
Kenneth Keung is quoted in the Investment Executive article titled “How should trusts flow out capital gains to beneficiaries in 2024?”, July 5, 2024.
Kim G C Moody, Kenneth Keung, and Christopher Ellett are quoted in the Investment Executive article titled “When is the latest clients can sell assets prior to June 25?”, published on May 17, 2024.
Alexander Marino recently appeared on the Global Investment Voice Podcast to discuss the benefits of renouncing US citizenship on March 14, 2024.
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The Twelve Days of Tax Christmas
On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
an Income Tax Act! (In a Pear Tree)
On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two CRA Notice of Reassessments
and an Income Tax Act! (In a Pear Tree)
An update to the small business deduction rules, and some much-needed flowcharts
It has been more than half a year since the Department of Finance announced proposed amendments to the small business deduction (SBD) rules in section 125 of the Income Tax Act (Act) as part of the 2016 Federal Budget. The Canadian tax community has just started to digest the complexity and reach of these amendments. The draft legislation has only passed First Reading in Parliament (as Bill C-29), but in all likelihood, it will eventually be enacted in its current form since Finance has already made a round of revisions to the draft legislation on October 21, 2016.
So you want to move to Canada?
It seems like every time there is an American election, Google is inundated with search traffic from panicked Americans looking to move to Canada. However, the most recent American election was met with a particularly colossal surge of interest. In fact, the demand was so great that the Government of Canada’s Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship website crashed due to the high volume of visitors.
Canadians beware… Do accidental US tax inversions apply to you?
Phaedrus, the ancient Athenian aristocrat associated with the philosopher Socrates, was famous for the following quote: “Things are not always as they seem; the first appearance deceives many.” The US inversion tax rules that you may have read about in connection with the Burger King – Tim Horton’s deal or the scuttled Pfizer – Allergan deal reminds me about Phaedrus’ quote… while the rules might appear conceptually simple, the reality is that they are very nasty. Under certain circumstances, the foreign (non-US) acquiring company of the US target is treated as a US domestic corporation for income tax purposes under the US Internal Revenue Code. That means that the parent, which continues to be domiciled and taxed in its place of incorporation, is also taxed in the US. There’s no relief under tax treaties and the host country will most likely not offer any kind of relief through foreign tax credits. Some degree of double taxation is assured.
Privilege and Marketing Tax Services
Should the legal profession use the existence of privileged communications as a marketing tool? Admittedly, privilege is a powerful right that can protect clients from having their statements or opinions used against them in court. However, not all clients need this protection and many professions (including both lawyers and accountants) are ethically bound by duties of confidentiality. I submit that using privilege as a marketing trump card is ingenuous and, unless privilege is necessary, could sometimes be a disservice to the client.
A non-retroactive rectification order? Anderson rectifies agreement but not agreed transaction
Taxpayers who erroneously record an agreement in a manner that (per the erroneous documentation) would cause unintended tax consequences to arise may find relief in the equitable remedy of rectification. Rectification is discretionary; when it is awarded, a rectification order is granted by a court on the basis that a document inaccurately reflects the true original agreement of the parties with the order having effect nunc pro tunc (i.e. retrospectively or retroactively) as of the date of the original agreement. The retrospective effect of a rectification order is binding for tax purposes. However, in Anderson v. Benson Trithardt Noren LLP 2015 SKQB 123, affirmed by 2016 SKCA 120, (Anderson) [1] while the Court rectified documents recording a section 85 rollover, the Court refused to declare that its order was retrospectively binding for tax purposes. Confused? Anderson provides both a cautionary tale of the importance of diligently implementing even the most vanilla tax planning and a thought- provoking discussion of rectification in the tax context.
Alexander Marino is quoted in an article titled “‘Scary’: Why US expats are tossing their citizenships – and it’s not just Trump” in The Sydney Morning Herald, November 1, 2024
Kenneth Keung is quoted in the Investment Executive article titled “Quirk in capital gains tax rules raises risks for incorporated clients,” published on July 24, 2024.
Kenneth Keung is quoted in the Investment Executive article titled “How should trusts flow out capital gains to beneficiaries in 2024?”, July 5, 2024.
Kim G C Moody, Kenneth Keung, and Christopher Ellett are quoted in the Investment Executive article titled “When is the latest clients can sell assets prior to June 25?”, published on May 17, 2024.
Alexander Marino recently appeared on the Global Investment Voice Podcast to discuss the benefits of renouncing US citizenship on March 14, 2024.
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