Bell was denied favourable goods and services tax (“GST”) treatment of its purchase of electricity, which was determined to be a single supply for the purpose of claiming input tax credits (“ITCs”) under the Excise Tax Act, RSC 1985, c E-15 [ETA]. In Bell Telephone Company of Canada v. Canada, 2025 FCA 27 [Bell Canada], The Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) […]
Introduction The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) bifurcated 8-1 in Canada (Attorney General) v Collins Family Trust, 2022 SCC 26 (“Collins”) with Brown J writing for the majority and Côté J dissenting. The SCC majority allowed the Crown’s appeal from the British Columbia Court of Appeal (“BCCA”) concerning the tax planning and the Income Tax […]
Introduction In Canada v Loblaw Financial Holdings Inc., 2021 SCC 51 [“Loblaw”], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) examines “one of the most complex tax schemes, with hundreds of definitions, rules, and exceptions that shift regularly” (Loblaw, para 28). The vital, yet straightforward, question being decided in the appeal is “does a parent corporation conduct […]
Why We Should Be Suspicious of Timeshares Julie Guindon is the family and estate lawyer at the heart of Guindon v Canada, 2015 SCC 41 [Guindon] in which the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) confirmed that penalties under s.163.2 of the Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp) [ITA] are not criminal in […]
Section 143 of the Income Tax Act (ITA), colloquially known as the “Hutterite rule”, provides for the separate tax treatment of communal religious organizations that satisfy the definition of a “congregation” as defined in subsection 143(4). This section was enacted in response to litigation undertaken by a number of Hutterite colonies in 1977. Following its […]