Could the end of tax return preparation — or so-called “tax season” for accountants — really happen? Or to paraphrase Mark Twain, is the demise of the income tax return greatly exaggerated? Technology is an amazing thing. As governments continue to expand data collection and improve their use of technology, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the tax return could evolve into something very different than it is today. So, while the income tax return certainly isn’t dead yet, its demise may be in the not-so-distant future.

On Nov. 16, 2015, I wrote about the ongoing saga regarding subsection 104(13.4) and some good news that was released by the Department of Finance. Today, the Department of Finance released legislative proposals as a follow-up and are seeking comments on such proposals no later than Feb. 15, 2016. While we are still absorbing some of the material, here are the very quick observations.

The Federal Court of Appeal’s (FCA) recent French language decision in the appeal of Gervais considered the use of a sale structure commonly referred to as the “half loaf.” In general, this planning technique provides an opportunity to spouses to increase the use of the capital gains deduction (CGD) in cases where only one spouse owns property (and a disposition of which would give rise to an opportunity for use of the CGD). The Tax Court decision in Gervais of Jorre J. was largely based on the finding that a transfer of capital property from one spouse to another, that was immediately resold to an unrelated party, was on account of income and not capital.