Archive for Category: CRA Tax Collection

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Case Commentary Cassidy v Canada: Using ‘Extraordinary Circumstances,’ CRA’s Delays, Inability to Pay, or Financial Hardship When Seeking Taxpayer Relief

Introduction: Mr. Cassidy’s Request for Taxpayer Relief Taxpayers may, under subsection 220(3.1) of the Income Tax Act (“Tax Act”), request relief for penalties and interest in what is referred to as a taxpayer relief application (formerly known as fairness application). Granting this application is at the Canada Revenue Agency’s...

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Statute-Barred Tax Years and the Canada Revenue Agency’s Powers to Reassess Tax Years: A Canadian Tax Lawyer’s Guide

Introduction – What are Statute-Barred Tax Years? The Canadian tax system is based on the principles of self-assessment, which requires that Canadian taxpayers perform their own due diligence and to report their taxable income to the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) for tax assessment. Under subsection 152(1) of the Canadian...

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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...

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A picture of unpaid taxes by a director with a post it note on a laptop reading ”tax deadline

Zvilna v. Canada: Director’s Liability for Unpaid Taxes: A Canadian Tax Lawyer’s Note of Caution to Directors

Background on Directors Liability for Taxes: The Tax Court of Canada has recently decided a case regarding director’s liability for unremitted GST/HST. Generally, a director of a corporation can be held personally liable to CRA for various corporate liabilities such as unremitted GST and HST, as well as unremitted...

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