Tax Alerts
December 22, 2009 - Incorporation Will Become More Beneficial for Alberta Professionals
On November 26, 2009, the Professional Corporations Statutes Amendment Act, 2009 (Bill 53) received Royal Assent. Once the Bill is proclaimed, Alberta professionals will have more flexibility when it comes to using professional corporations (PCs). Read more
December 17, 2009 - Government Retroactively Amends GST Rules for Fully Discretionary Investment Services
In July 2009, we alerted you to a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that that stated that fully discretionary investment services were tax exempt for GST purposes. On December 14, 2009, the Department of Finance announced that the GST rules will be amended to specifically exclude certain activities, including discretionary investment services, from the definition of financial services. With this change, these services will again be subject to GST. Read more
December 9 , 2009 - The Transition to the HST in Ontario
On October 14, 2009, the Ontario Ministry of Finance released Information Notice #3 (the “Ontario Notice”) outlining the general transition rules in support of its implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The HST is scheduled to come into effect on July 1, 2010 subject to legislative approval. Read more
December 9 , 2009 - The Transition to the HST in British Columbia
On October 14, 2009, the British Columbia Ministry of Finance released HST Notice #1 (the “BC Notice”) outlining the general transition rules in support of its implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The HST is scheduled to come into effect on July 1, 2010 subject to legislative approval. Read more
October 16, 2009 - B.C. and Ontario Announce HST Transitional Details
Yesterday morning, both B.C. and Ontario released details on the implementation of Harmonized Sales Tax ("HST") in those provinces (to replace their respective provincial sales taxes, or "PST"). Given that both sets of rules were released at the same time, it should come as no surprise that they are identical in most respects. Read more
July 2, 2009 - Fully Discretionary Investment Services Held to be Exempt for GST Purposes
A recent court case will be of significant interest to professional investment managers who provide fully discretionary investment management services to clients, as the Federal Court of Appeal recent ruled that these services are exempt for GST purposes. Read more
June 23, 2009 - Canada Revenue Agency Announces New Employee Benefit Rules
On June 11, 2009, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced a number of new administrative rules for employee benefits. Most of the new rules are beneficial, either in terms of the tax treatment of the employee or in terms of simplifying the process. Read more
June 9, 2009 - IRS Temporarily Suspends Foreign Bank Account Reporting for non-US Persons
On June 5, 2009, the IRS announced that persons who are not US citizens, US residents or US domestic entities, do not need to file Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), for 2008. This form is due on June 30, 2009. Read more
March 11, 2009 - Income Splitting Just Became More Attractive
In the 2009 – 01 edition of The Tax Factor, we discussed the income splitting possibilities that exist due to the current low interest rate environment, and in particular, the concept of making a low-interest “prescribed rate loan” to low-income family members. Where loan interest is charged at the prescribed rate in effect when the loan is made, the proceeds of that loan can be used by the family member to acquire an income producing property without income attribution worries. Read more
