Blog + News

Insight on what’s happening in the world of tax, law and accounting so you can stay ahead.

***CLICK FOR ALL NEWS***

Alexander Marino is quoted in an article titled “Trump bump: U.S. citizenship renunciation inquiries surge in Canada, lawyers say” on CBC News, January 28, 2025.

***CLICK FOR ALL NEWS***

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

***CLICK FOR ALL NEWS***

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.

***CLICK FOR ALL NEWS***

Kenneth Keung is quoted in the Investment Executive article titled “How should trusts flow out capital gains to beneficiaries in 2024?”, July 5, 2024.

***CLICK FOR ALL NEWS***

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.

All
  • All
  • Accounting
  • Alexander Marino JD, LLM (US Tax)
  • Announcements
  • Business Law
  • Canadian Tax
  • Christmas
  • Federal Budget
  • Firm News
  • Flowcharts
  • Immigration & Travel
  • Living Abroad
  • Personal Notes
  • Publications
  • Team Profiles
  • Trust & Estate Law
  • US Citizenship Renunciation
  • US Tax
  • Webinar Recordings

Morality and Tax

“…there is nothing sinister in so arranging one’s affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands…To demand more of mortals is mere cant.”

Learned Hand in Commissioner v. Newman, 159 F2d 848 (1947).

Everywhere you look lately, the press seems to be reporting another group or person that is pontificating about the “evils” of tax avoidance and tax planning. The usual rhetoric is that corporations or individuals who plan to reduce their taxes are engaging in immoral practices since they should be paying their “fair share”.

Read More

Canadian taxation treatment of restrictive covenants – Section 56.4

Our firm has written on the Canadian taxation treatment of restrictive covenants many times. Our blogs of April 11, 2008 and July 20, 2010 are two small examples. In addition, I wrote an extensive paper for the Canadian Tax Foundation on this topic in 2008. However, some of the content of my 2008 paper is out of date given some extensive amendments to proposed section 56.4 subsequent to the release of that paper but much of it is still relevant.

Read More

Trick or treaty: Are Canadians next as IRS takes historic first step?

Canadians know that their proximity to the US presents both risk and opportunity. One risk that has always been hard to quantify is the risk that the IRS and CRA will cooperate to enforce each others’ tax laws with respect to assets and information on both sides of the border. Recently, the likelihood of this cooperation increased significantly. For the first time, the US government has used a powerful device in support of a treaty-partner government to obtain financial data.

Read More

Pitfalls in Canada / US cross-border partnership compliance: Treatment of partnership debt

Since joining the cross border team at Moodys, I’ve had opportunities to help clients navigate US tax law and hear “O Canada” even when neither the Flames nor the Oilers are in town. For US purposes, allocations of US partnership income are reported to the IRS on a Form K-1 issued to the partners in the partnership. In Canada, the corresponding form is a Form T5013. I’ve also learned that (mimicking the mph/kmh conversion of speedometers) many Canadian accountants and taxpayers simply report their US partnership income to the CRA by converting the US dollar amounts on a K-1 to Canadian dollar amounts on their T1 or T2 (or corresponding form). This practice, although common, ignores important differences between the two sets of tax laws and can have legal ramifications.

Read More

Macro forces affecting taxpayers

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…the tax profession is extremely difficult. Like society, it is continuously changing and such changes challenge taxpayers and their advisors to keep up to date and respond proactively. In the past, many people in need of tax advice would simply turn to their accountants given the fact that many accountants are schooled in tax return preparation and therefore, by extension, such people assume that accountants are tax experts. However, tax return preparation and tax advisory services are truly two different service areas.

Read More

The devil’s in the details: The new form T1135 is released

Earlier this week, the CRA released the revised Foreign Income Verification Form (“T1135”) as had previously been announced by the Federal government in their 2013 Budget. Consistent with our blog posted on March 26, 2013, taxpayers are now required to report additional information which makes the T1135 more comparable to its US cousin – the FBAR.

Read More

***CLICK FOR ALL NEWS***

Alexander Marino is quoted in an article titled “Trump bump: U.S. citizenship renunciation inquiries surge in Canada, lawyers say” on CBC News, January 28, 2025.

***CLICK FOR ALL NEWS***

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

***CLICK FOR ALL NEWS***

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.

***CLICK FOR ALL NEWS***

Kenneth Keung is quoted in the Investment Executive article titled “How should trusts flow out capital gains to beneficiaries in 2024?”, July 5, 2024.

***CLICK FOR ALL NEWS***

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.