Archive for Category: CRA Tax Audit

Smartphone with Opened Calculator Lying on a Document with an Income Statement

Taxpayer Sidesteps Gross-Negligence Penalties and $90,000 in Taxable Income Because Tax Year was Statute-Barred: Abbass v The King, 2023 TCC 169

Introduction: Statute-Barred Tax Years & Statute-Barred Tax Audits Canada’s Income Tax Act sets out a “normal reassessment period,” after which the Canada Revenue Agency generally cannot reassess a person’s taxable income or tax payable. For most individual taxpayers, the normal reassessment period expires three years from the date that...

Read More
Man holding brown gavel with one hand on book

Case Commentary: CRA Violates Procedural Fairness for CERB/CRB Claims – Cameron v. Canada (Attorney General) – Judicial Review at Federal Court

Introduction – CERB and CRB claims before the Federal Court The Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) has been assessing, and often denying, Canada Emergency Response Benefit (“CERB”) and Canada Revenue Benefit (“CRB”) claims. Recourse for those individual taxpayers denied CERB and CRB is to request a second review from the...

Read More
Man in suit with glasses checking time sitting in front of a laptop

Canadian taxpayers must respond to CRA about assessments, reassessments, confirmations by the deadline: Oliveira v. The King, 2023 TCC

Oliveira v. The King (“Oliveria”) demonstrates the need for taxpayers to diligently follow the deadlines stipulated on the notices received from the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”). Deadlines stipulated on notices of assessments, reassessments, or confirmations are based upon Canadian tax legislation i.e., the Income Tax Act (“ITA”) and the...

Read More
Image of woman shopping in a dollar store

Federal Court granted CRA access to big box store’s client lists that may uncover tax fraud and evasion: Guidance from a Canadian tax lawyer on CRA’s power to compel third parties to disclose information

Big box store was ordered by the Federal Court to turn over its client lists to the CRA In November 2022, the Federal Court granted the CRA’s request to force J.D.Irving to turn over its clients’ data from January 1, 2019, which included the complete name, contact information, CRA...

Read More
Two people holding hands, one holding home key on it

T1135s, Beneficial Ownership of Property, and Chan v The Queen: A Canadian Tax Lawyer’s Case Comment

Introduction – T1135s and Beneficial Ownership The Canadian Income Tax Act requires that Canadian tax residents who own “specified foreign property” with a cost of $100,000 or more in Canadian dollars file an annual Foreign Income Verification Statement, or “T1135”, with that year’s tax return. Specified foreign property as...

Read More
Couple sitting at desk with coffee, calculator and paperwork discussing taxes

Federal Court of Appeal Overturns Tax Court’s Decision and Vacates Gross-Negligence Penalties because the Canada Revenue Agency’s Evidence was Exclusively About the Taxpayer’s Spouse: Khanna v The Queen, 2022 FCA 84 – A Canadian Tax Lawyer’s Analysis

Penalties Canada’s tax statutes contain various penalties that seek to curb non-compliance. A gross-negligence penalty aims to punish a taxpayer whose conduct “involves a high degree of negligence tantamount to intentional acting, an indifference as to whether the law is complied with or not”: Venne v R., 84 DTC...

Read More
CRA's Agreement with Coinsquare in Disclosing Crypto User Information

CRA’s Agreement with Coinsquare in Disclosing Crypto User Information

Introduction – CRA’s Court Order against Coinsquare On September 18, 2020, the CRA filed a Federal Court application against Coinsquare in order to compell the Toronto-based cryptocurrency platform to disclose tax information related to its customers. We covered this issue in depth here (https://taxpage.com/articles-and-tips/cra-wants-coinsquare-to-disclose-confidential-client-info/) Following a Federal Court ruling...

Read More
Upward Adjustments for Tax Notices of Objection

Upward Adjustments for Tax Notices of Objection

What is a Tax Notice of Objection? A tax Notice of Objection is a formal dispute filed with the Canada Revenue Agency wherein the taxpayer appeals tax amounts assessed against the taxpayer by the Canada Revenue Agency. For example, a taxpayer may argue an auditor improperly imputed taxable income...

Read More