Publications

Pension Income Splitting

The benefit of pension income splitting for Canadian seniors has often been described as simply moving pension income from a higher tax bracket to a lower…

Another Tax Preparer Convicted

On March 23, 2010, Ms. Shantelle Mohan was sentenced to 42 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000. Ms….

Voluntary Disclosures Program Sees Huge Increase in 2009

According to an article in the March 18, 2010 Globe and Mail, the Voluntary Disclosure Program has been an unexpected source of revenue for the…

Content of Tax Appeals

In an interesting article on March 13, 2010, Jamie Golombek wrote about a recent decision in the Tax Court of Canada. The issue before the Tax…

Quick Thoughts on 2010 Budget

On March 4, 2010, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty released the 2010 Budget. Unlike previous years, this year’s budget did not contain major changes like the…

Deadlines to Appeal Tax Matters

The appeal process for income tax and GST matters begin with a notice of objection. A notice of objection filed by a taxpayer states that…

Mafia Leader Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

On February 11, 2010, Nicolo Rizzuto pleaded guilty to an unreported number of charges of tax evasion. Mr. Rizzuto is reportedly the head of a Montreal Mafia…

Buying Bank Secrecy

According to the German Finance Minister, Germany is prepared to purchase stolen data containing information in relation to Swiss bank accounts. Other European countries, including the…

CRA Seeking Names from Bank of Nova Scotia

Further to its quest to find taxpayers with offshore accounts, CRA has filed an application in the Federal Court seeking names of investors to a British…

Ottawa to Combat Losses on Income Trusts

According to a report in the January 27, 2010 National Post, income trusts have been merging with corporations that have tax losses as a means of…

CRA May Sue UBS

According to a report in the January 7, 2009 edition of the Toronto Star, Canada is in the process of negotiating with Swiss Bank UBS regarding…

UBS Off-Shore Accounts on 60 Minutes

On January 3, 2010, 60 Minutes did a piece on the whistle-blower who tipped off the IRS to the off-shore bank accounts held by Swiss Bank UBS….