Hot topics for discussion at the conference included taxation of the digital economy, approaches for "hard to value intangibles", the adoption of technology within the tax department, and lessons learned from country-by-country reporting. ... - Continue reading
Bill C-82, An Act to implement a multilateral convention to implement tax treaty related measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting, has received royal assent. ... - Continue reading
The fight against tax avoidance continues.. ... - Continue reading
Tax rules regarding offshore tax planning amended ... - Continue reading
Canada is home to some of the largest multinational corporations in the world, a bustling pension fund and private equity industry, and growing numbers of alternative investment, real estate, and insurance shops. With dynamic industry and growth in the region, Canadian business leaders are leveraging Cayman as a financial centre to help… – Continue reading
A developer and builder based in Anmore has been found guilty of tax evasion and making false statements under the Income Tax Act, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced on Friday. According to the CRA, Willi Isaak was sentenced to pay a $23,100 fine, after being found guilty on two… – Continue reading
Luxembourg, Barbados and Bermuda are three of Canada’s top five destinations in the world for corporate cash After exploding to record levels under Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, the amount of money Corporate Canada is funneling through offshore tax havens has hit a new all-time high. According to data newly released… – Continue reading
OTTAWA, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The federal government needn’t worry about a consumer backlash to a sales tax on Canadians’ Netflix accounts, if newly released results from an Environics Research poll and a separate survey of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax professionals are any indication, says the Professional… – Continue reading
CRA now transferring 600,000 banking records per year under controversial information sharing agreement The Canadian government has shared more than 1.6 million Canadian banking records with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service since the start of a controversial information-sharing agreement in 2014, CBC News has learned. In 2016 and again in… – Continue reading
OTTAWA, Dec. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A large majority of Canadians (77%) agree “It would be a good investment for the Government of Canada to allocate more resources towards preventing tax evasion and avoidance,” according to a recent Environics Research poll. The poll was commissioned by the Professional Institute… – Continue reading
There is confusion among taxpayers regarding taxability of foreign rental income in Pakistan and filing of income tax returns in view of avoidance of double taxation treaties signed between Pakistan and UAE, UK and Canada. A leading tax consultant Shahid Jami has approached the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for… – Continue reading
Introduction – Offshore funds and Canada Revenue Agency’ reach Gone are the days when offshore bank accounts were outside the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)’s reach. With the advent of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), CRA automatically receives financial information of Canadian taxpayers who own bank accounts or assets in other… – Continue reading
The cabinet of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to implement tax cuts for the nation’s businesses, which, along with the announced plans to reduce regulation, are highly reminiscent of the economic policies of Canada’s southern neighbour. Kristian Rouz — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled an ambitious… – Continue reading
Introduction A person’s status as a tax resident determines the extent to which Canada may tax that person’s income. The test for whether an individual—i.e., a natural person—is a Canadian tax resident turns on the individual’s particular circumstances. Every detail counts. But Canadian courts and the Canada Revenue Agency both… – Continue reading
On the list of countries operating CBI/RBI schemes, that the OECD feels have the potential to be used for tax dodging, are 2 tax havens that are popular with wealthy Canadians and large Canadian companies. These are Barbados and Panama. Ottawa (19 Oct. 2018) — New information from the Organization… – Continue reading
The cryptocurrency industry is still at a very early stage of its development, so there are no single international rules yet. The governments of individual countries independently try to regulate digital assets. The tax on the cryptocurrency varies in different countries. Within the framework of this article, we will try… – Continue reading
HMRC has formed an alliance with tax enforcement bodies in 4 countries to share intelligence and expertise in the battle against international tax crime. The UK has joined forces with Canada, the Netherlands, the United States and Australia to launch the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) – a… – Continue reading
The federal government has introduced sweeping new reporting rules for private trust funds, which have been accused of hiding wealthy Canadians’ money from tax collectors. Going forward, trusts that fail to file a tax return will face fines equalling 5% of its total value. The Canadian government still has no… – Continue reading
(CNS): While the prospect of legal cannabis for recreational use in the Cayman Islands is not expected anytime soon, Canada is just a couple of months away from full legalisation. As that date approaches, legislators have raised concerns that the multi-billion dollar legal weed market could be taken over by… – Continue reading
G7 countries are committed to working towards a consensus-based solution to the tax challenges of the digital economy, according to the final communique issued at the conclusion of the G7’s summit in Charlevoix, Canada. Expressing support for the OECD’s work in this area, the communique states that the impact that… – Continue reading
The IMF has said that the recent changes to the US tax system could make Canada a less attractive destination for investment. The IMF has published the report from its latest Article IV mission to Canada, in which it noted that “external risks are more acute than in the recent… – Continue reading
Western Australia’s residential sector could be facing up to 12 months or more of limited interest from Chinese buyers in the wake of the state government’s decision to increase taxes on offshore purchasers. Earlier this week, as part of its annual state budget, the WA government announced that it would… – Continue reading
Two Barbados preferential tax regimes have been labelled “potentially harmful” in additional guidance released by the OECD in connection with its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project. The guidance singles out Barbados’s international financial services regime and its credit for foreign currency earnings/credit for overseas projects or services regime…. – Continue reading
Toronto lacks a tax advantage that the 19 other contenders on the short list to host Amazon’s second headquarters now enjoy. The recently adopted U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provides companies based in the United States with an effective tax rate of 13.125 per cent on a portion… – Continue reading
After a B.C. resident was swindled out of $3,000 in a bitcoin tax scam, the RCMP is warning the public not to pay any tax bill using cryptocurrency. The incident occurred in North Vancouver on Jan. 18 when the victim received a phone call from someone claiming to be an… – Continue reading
Offshore tax havens conjure up a wonderland for the well-heeled and their wealth. But investigations based on the Paradise Papers leak has found that millions of ordinary Canadians also have an interest in money parked in tax havens — almost certainly without knowing it. Seven of the country’s so-called Big… – Continue reading
On December 15, 2017, the CRA released the final version of Information Circular IC 00-1R6 – Voluntary Disclosures Program (“VDP”) for income tax, after receiving and considering community input on the June 2017 draft version. This article summarizes the important differences between the draft and the final ICs and discusses… – Continue reading
The Canada Revenue Agency’s recently announced “postal code project” targets Canada’s richest neighbourhoods, to identify non-compliance apparent from discrepancies between residents’ tax reporting with their apparent wealth. Even prior to the postal code project, which focuses on any potential high net worth individual, the CRA had enhanced audit activity on… – Continue reading
In this Update On June 7, 2017, Canada signed the OECD’s Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) The MLI will modify up to 75 of Canada’s bilateral tax treaties, including adding a broad anti-avoidance rule to these treaties (the… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD/LONDON: The thirty-eight-page trust deed of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen’s offshore trust was signed and formalised in Geneva, Switzerland, and facilitated by HSBC Guyerzeller Trust Company Geneva – raising questions about Swiss bank accounts. During the hearing before Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Tareen was asked no questions about… – Continue reading
Canada and Antigua and Barbuda have signed a new tax information exchange agreement. The agreement was signed on October 31, the Canadian Government announced on November 14. Negotiations were launched in November 2010. The agreement provides for the mutual exchange of tax information that is possessed by, or is accessible… – Continue reading
114 taxpayers in Canada’s voluntary disclosure program say that the Israeli bank helped them evade taxes. As if the headache of the investigation by US authorities were not enough, Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI), managed by CEO Arik Pinto, discovered two days ago that Canada was also taking aim at it…. – Continue reading
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has released a database of around 13.4 million documents revealing over 25,000 companies owned by the world’s rich and influential individuals. The ICIJ coordinated the Panama Papers investigation into offshore companies. The latest files have disclosed the financial details of politicians, corporations, and… – Continue reading
The Canadian Government is pressing ahead with plans to cut the small business tax rate. The Government has tabled a Notice of Ways and Means Motion in the House of Commons that proposes phased reductions in the small business tax rate. Under the changes, the rate will fall from 10.5… – Continue reading
A Federal Court judge has approved at least one court order that will require a British Columbia developer to turn over information to tax officials about people who bought and flipped condo units before or during construction. And several similar applications are under way, reflecting the federal government’s efforts to… – Continue reading
The Canadian Government has said that it will “act on what it has heard” during its 75-day consultation on the controversial reform of tax planning rules it says are being used by high-income individuals to lower their tax bills. The Government intends to prevent individuals from using private corporations in… – Continue reading
Canada’s Revenue Minister has provided an update on the progress made by the Government in addressing tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. The update concerns the recommendations on tackling tax avoidance and evasion made by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) in October 2016, and the actions… – Continue reading
Canada has implemented the country-by-country reporting requirement for large multinational enterprises (MNEs) contained in the 2015 Final Report on Action 13 of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan. Canada’s legislation is found in s. 233.8 of the Income Tax Act (Canada), and is supported by the… – Continue reading
Thirty-five Canadian business organizations have written to Finance Minister Bill Morneau to ask that he scrap proposals to crack down on the use of tax planning strategies by private corporations. The business groups have together formed the Coalition for Small Business Tax Fairness to oppose the Government’s proposals. Signatories of… – Continue reading
The Federal Court of Canada has ruled that the Canadian Revenue Agency may not conduct further in-person interviews with representatives from a multinational corporation concerning its transfer pricing affairs, having already discussed earlier tax years. Cameco Corporation declined to produce approximately 25 personnel for oral interviews in relation to an… – Continue reading
Canada and dozens of other countries will automatically share banking information of non-residents Canadians with secret overseas bank accounts could soon find themselves at risk of being exposed by a new international agreement designed to help catch tax cheats. Under the Common Reporting Standard, dozens of countries will share information… – Continue reading
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has said that audits it undertook between April 2015 and March 2017 of real estate transactions resulted in more than CAD329.4m (USD249.2m) in assessed income that had not been reported. The CRA said that, during this period, it completed over 21,000 audit files related to… – Continue reading
The Canadian Government has explained how it will incorporate into its tax agreements new provisions to counter base erosion and profit shifting, having signed the OECD’s multilateral instrument on tackling treaty abuse. The Canadian Government said that the minimum standards consist of the inclusion in existing treaties of a new… – Continue reading
The Canadian Government has issued an update on its anti-avoidance work, and said that audits carried out in the past fiscal year are on track to capture more than CAD13bn (USD9.6bn) worth of taxes owed. The report was issued to the Standing Committee on Finance, in accordance with commitments made… – Continue reading
The finance minister says federal government doesn’t “want to wait for the next Panama Papers.” Canada’s finance minister denounced “unfair” tax loopholes on Thursday and put Bay St. on notice that the Liberal government is committed to addressing “blind spots” and exposing shadowy corporate finances to public scrutiny. “We don’t… – Continue reading
Witnesses call for repeal of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act An agreement that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Canadian banking records being sent to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service could violate the U.S. constitution, a congressional subcommittee heard Wednesday. Testifying before a subcommittee of the House Committee on… – Continue reading
Overview of the Tax As expected, the Government of Ontario has introduced a new non-resident speculation tax (“NRST”) that takes effect on April 21, 2017. The NRST is a 15% tax payable on the purchase of an interest in residential property located in the “Greater Golden Horseshoe” area (which includes… – Continue reading
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will dedicate resources to ensuring that the real estate sector in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) complies with the tax laws. The commitment of CRA resources was one of the outcomes of a meeting between the federal and Ontarian finance ministers and the Toronto Mayor… – Continue reading
