Dominion Tax Law

09/07/2023

Last month, Finance Canada released their proposed legislation (the “Proposals”) for, among other things, the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit (the

09/07/2023

The Canadian government's proposed legislation to enact the new Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit is problematic to say the least. Many firms have commented that the legislation has been announced, but we have seen little to no in-depth analysis of exactly how the proposed rules would work out in the real world. After looking at the proposed law in detail, our take is that, as currently drafted, the restrictions on access to the tax credit are excessive and counter-productive, and render the tax incentives non-competitive with comparable incentives in the US Inflation Reduction Act. We wish it were not the case, but we call'em as we see'em. Please see our detailed blawg on the issue on our website at the link below.

Last month, Finance Canada released their proposed legislation (the “Proposals”) for, among other things, the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit (the

08/06/2023

Case Comment - Frozen Pie Manufacturer Soften's Crust on SR&ED Eligibility
This case could be a turning point in the way that the tax court of Canada looks at companies that have been denied tax credits for their scientific research and experimental development claims. The Chief Justice of the Tax Court of Canada cites a case we lost at the Federal Court of Appeal as grounds for being more taxpayer friendly in the legal analysis. And if that is the trend, then the uphill fight will have been worth it.

Canafric Inc. v HMK, TCC 2023 108 (“Canafric”) is the most recent addition to the Tax Court of Canada’s jurisprudence on Scientific Research and Experimental

08/03/2023

Dominion Tax Law has not been updating the website with Canadian tax related comments for a while because reasons. However, we are back at it! Watch this space! Today's comment focuses on dealing with the CRA if they say you owe money. You have rights to dispute their claim, but you have to protect those rights in a very specific way.

According to a recent CBC news story, a man named Justice Mounsey had his personal information hacked from a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website in 2020. As a

12/22/2022

Dear Friends! Happy Holidays from Dominion Tax Law. Please enjoy this short video. The last couple of years I have tried to do the 'big firm' thing and it is safe to say it did not go as planned. So here I go, again on my own, walking down the only road I've ever known...

12/07/2022

Just a reminder about the Estate Planning Webinar and in-person seminar tomorrow at noon Calgary time. Plenty of time to sign up!

11/22/2022

Looking forward to our Webinar on December 8 on Estate Planning for Canadian Business Owners with HD Law. Let me know if you or any of your contacts would be interested!

01/30/2019

This is an important case for everyone who cares about people with special needs. At first glance it may seem counter-intuitive that a trust can hold assets for someone with special needs and that person can still receive public assistance. But the rub is that without this, the law basically says that unless you are destitute you can't receive public assistance like AISH (assured income for the severely handicapped). The problem is that someone who was on assistance might inherit a modest amount from their parents, would lose their AISH immediately, and then would have to burn through all of their assets ... and then re-apply for AISH, which can take months to re-instate. So people with special needs would be without any means of support for months, by which time they might have slipped through the cracks of the system. This case further adds to the legal protection that allows families to take care of their special needs children via a will with a "Henson Trust". I always have drafted trusts into just about every will with Henson Trust terms regardless of whether of the beneficiaries actually had special needs. Because there are only three types of people in the world - people with special needs now, those who die too young to develop special needs and those lucky enough to grow old enough to develop them....

A case overview, by Melodi E. Ulku, Loberg Law, Calgary 28 January 2019 The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in S.

07/02/2018

Tax-IFY; Tax Information For You!
The CRA won a valuation case on wine that should have never gone to trial. But it did...

The Financial Post recently ran an article discussing the fascinating complexities that are involved in assessing the Fair Market Value of the donation of 21 bottles of wine to an Ottawa charity.[i] Without rehashing Jamie Gombec’s excellent article, I think there is merit in discussing some of th...