Alexander Marino appeared on CONNECT With Sarah Crosbie on Corus Radio on August 25, 2026, to discuss to discuss US Citizenship Renunciation in wake of the Canada-US trade war.
Alexander Marino is quoted in The Guardian article:“‘I don’t want to be part of a dictatorship’: the Americans queueing up to renounce their citizenship”, April 28, 2026.
Alexander Marino was a guest on the “This is Ottawa” CBC podcast episode titled ‘I feel alienated from my U.S. identity’ on March 23, 2026.
Alexander Marino was interviewed for the CBC news story “Dual citizens weigh Trump, taxes in decision to renounce US citizenship” on March 23, 2026.
Kim GC Moody was a guest on The Current with Matt Galloway on CBC Radio, on September 22, 2025 discussing “Why can’t you get a CRA agent on the line?”
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Supreme Court of Canada upholds rectification in Quebec tax cases
The Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) recently released its decision in Quebec v. Services Environnementaux AES inc., 2013 SCC 65, which considered two cases where the Quebec Court of Appeal had allowed rectification as a remedy for taxpayers whose advisors had made an error in executing tax planning documentation. The SCC allowed rectification in both cases.
Designating excessive capital dividends as eligible dividends
Canada’s Income Tax Act (the “Act”) strives to achieve equality and neutrality in the taxation of income earned:
1. individually;
2. by a corporation that is taxed at the higher general corporate rate and then distributed to its individual shareholders; and
3. by a corporation that is taxed at the lower rate affected by the small business deduction and then distributed to its individual shareholders.
The general rate income pool (“GRIP”) and the low rate income pool (“LRIP”) as set out in section 89 of the Act is used to achieve this integration.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
Alexander Marino appeared on CONNECT With Sarah Crosbie on Corus Radio on August 25, 2026, to discuss to discuss US Citizenship Renunciation in wake of the Canada-US trade war.
Alexander Marino is quoted in The Guardian article:“‘I don’t want to be part of a dictatorship’: the Americans queueing up to renounce their citizenship”, April 28, 2026.
Alexander Marino was a guest on the “This is Ottawa” CBC podcast episode titled ‘I feel alienated from my U.S. identity’ on March 23, 2026.
Alexander Marino was interviewed for the CBC news story “Dual citizens weigh Trump, taxes in decision to renounce US citizenship” on March 23, 2026.
Kim GC Moody was a guest on The Current with Matt Galloway on CBC Radio, on September 22, 2025 discussing “Why can’t you get a CRA agent on the line?”
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