The tax-free FHSA was introduced in 2023 to help first-time home buyers save up to $40,000 for a home purchase. Individuals eligible to open an FHSA must be at least 18 years of age and resident in Canada. The individual must also have not lived in a home that they or their spouse owned jointly or otherwise at any time in the year or the preceding four calendar years. Contributions to an FHSA are deductible…
A January 11, 2023 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal case addressed a claim for wrongful dismissal. The employer filed a counterclaim in respect of a 50-hour discrepancy between the employee’s timesheets and tracking software data over a period of about a month during which the employee was working remotely. The employee argued that significant hours were spent working from hard copies; however, this was rebutted by records of printer usage and a lack of evidence of…
The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) released a report on January 10, 2023, focused on succession expectations for small businesses. It included the following survey responses: 76% of small business owners (constituting $2 trillion in business value) are planning to exit their business in the next 10 years; 9% have a formal business succession plan in place; obstacles to succession planning include: finding a suitable buyer (54%), business valuation (43%), and over-reliance of owner…
In a January 23, 2023 French Court of Quebec case, a commissioned salesperson deducted nearly $600,000 over2015 and 2016, in sponsorship expenses of a professional cycling team in Canada. The individual was an investment advisor and reported commission income of $1,493,910 and $1,263,360 and taxable capital gains of $2,276,374 and $99,767 in the respective years. The taxpayer argued that the sponsorship promoted his services as an investment advisor. As the main sponsor of the cycling…
Traders or dealers in securities must report to CRA the disposition of securities, such as publicly traded shares, mutual fund units, bonds and T-bills, of their clients on a T5008. A November 4, 2022 French Federal Court case summarized CRA’s administrative policy where a taxpayer has not filed a tax return, but a T5008 was issued, reporting the disposition of property that does not include the cost of the property disposed. In this case, CRA…
UHT is a 1% federal tax intended to apply to the value of vacant or underused residential real property owned by non-resident non-Canadians. However, many Canadian individuals and other entities are also required to file UHT returns and may even be liable for the tax. Numerous exemptions from the tax itself exist, but significant penalties can apply where the required return is not filed, even if no tax is payable. UHT was first applicable to…
A one-time tax-free payment of $500, announced in September 2022, is now available to low-income renters. The payment does not reduce other federal income-tested benefits. Eligible individuals must: be 15 years of age or older on December 1, 2022; be resident in Canada for tax purposes in 2022; have filed their 2021 tax return with adjusted net income below $35,000 for families or $20,000 for individuals. If the individual has a spouse or common-law partner,…
A June 17, 2022 Ontario Superior Court of Justice case considered whether a will had been appropriately witnessed. In 2020, the owner of an insurance agency was diagnosed with terminal cancer and drafted a final will and testament. As it was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she chose two of her employees to meet her outside of the agency to sign the document as witnesses. She left everything to two children and nothing to…
A September 12, 2022 Tax Court of Canada case reviewed the gain on a residential property purchased in 2007 and disposed of in 2011. The property was substantially rebuilt during the ownership period. The proceeds, cost and gain were all determined by CRA as the sale was unreported. These amounts were largely unchallenged by the taxpayer and accepted by the Court. The Court noted that the taxpayer’s tumultuous relations with her ex-husband, whom she divorced…
A July 28, 2022 Tax Court of Canada case considered whether input tax credits (ITCs) in respect of a farming operation’s expenditures were available. The farming activity consisted of breeding and racing various horses and involved at least four full-time employees at one point. Over a nine-year period (2007-2015), the operations never experienced positive net earnings and more than $4 million in losses were accumulated. The owner partially financed operations with earnings from his law…
