Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Alexander Krush, Articling Student What are Gross Negligence Penalties? When the CRA conducts an audit and believes that the taxpayer intentionally under-reported their taxes, they will assess the taxpayer a gross negligence penalty. The financial impact of these penalties can be staggering. For income tax, the gross negligence penalty equals [...]
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners are having to make incredibly difficult decisions about how they allocate their precious financial resources. In order that business owners can make informed decisions that are in the best long-term interest of themselves and their families, it is critical that they fully understand the extent of [...]
HazloLaw – Business Lawyers is proud to support CPA Ottawa with its annual Tax Update. This year, on Feb. 21, over 200 CPAs attended to learn more about the recent changes to the rules on passive income, TOSI and section 55. Dean Blachford, our tax dispute resolution and litigation lawyer, MC’d the event and moderated […]
HazloLaw – Business Lawyers has joined the OONE network comprised of lawyers, accountants, customs, marketing and internationalization experts in over 50 countries. OONE, which is based in Padova, Italy, provides initial consultations by means of a video conference software by which clients are able to schedule one-hour calls with local professionals. This consultation system enables […]
This week, Dean Blachford, head of HazloLaw – Business Lawyers’ Tax Litigation department was in the Kitchener/Waterloo area presenting on tax issues related to real estate agents to the Royal LePage team at their 2019 Kick-Off Seminar. You can read Dean’s article on property flipping issues by clicking here. Follow HazloLaw on Twitter and LinkedIn to […]
By Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer and Robert Barnes, Law Student Thousands of Canadians invest in Offshore Investment Fund Property (OIFP) every year. There are many legitimate reasons why Canadian individuals and corporations may want to invest offshore. Higher ROI, added security, and diversification are just some of the most common reasons. There is nothing […]
[ENG] Ottawa’s first outdoor Christmas market opening took place on December 5th, 2018 in the Clarendon Court in the Byward Market. Hosted by Alpha Art Gallery owner Edith Betkowsi-Sokolowski and sponsored in part by Hazlolaw Business-Lawyers, Martin Aquilina, COO of the firm and International Lawyer, attended the Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in which the Mayor […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer and Valentine Gurfinkel, Articling Student Being audited by the CRA can be a confusing and overwhelming process for a taxpayer. What are your rights? Are there any limits as to what CRA can ask you for? In this article we will look at where CRA’s audit powers come from and where […]
HazloLaw – Business Lawyers filed its first prospectus this week in connection with the initial public offering of 5,000,000 common shares of NBS Capital Inc. The offering is expected to close in the next 90 days. Martin Aquilina and his team acted as advisors to the issuer.
Dean Blachford, head of HazloLaw – Business Lawyers’ Tax Litigation department presented at the Tax Law in Practice: Panel Discussion 2018. Dean addressed questions related to the practice of law and its challenges, the reasons for choosing to pursue a legal career, his experience as a clerk at the Tax Court of Canada and many […]
Dean Blachford, head of HazloLaw – Business Lawyers’ Tax Litigation department has recently spoken about property flipping in the Canadian Bar Association’s webinar entitled: “When CRA and Your Real Estate Transactions Collide”. 221 lawyers attended the webinar from across the country. Dean presented alongside Terry Barnett, Alexander Demner and Brett Horton.
Dean Blachford, head of HazloLaw – Business Lawyers’ Tax Litigation department presented to the attendees at the Video Tax News fall seminar in Ottawa on October 5, 2018. The VTN offers a number of publications for tax professionals. The VTN is composed by professionals across Canada who provide Video Tax News’ live or online courses […]
HazloLaw – Business Lawyers is pleased to have Antonio Almeida, a Tax lawyer from Deloitte Brazil, join our firm for a six-week internship. Antonio has expertise in representing and advising Brazil’s largest oil & gas industry companies on a variety of complex tax issues. He has been providing HazloLaw’s team with some fascinating insights into […]
On August 20, 2018, the head of HazloLaw – Business Lawyers’ Tax Litigation department, Dean Blachford, was cited by the Law Times in an article about the recent decision of the Tax Court of Canada regarding the application of section 160 of the Income Tax Act. The article addresses the Court’s decision in Aitchison Professional […]
Last September, Dean Blachford, head of HazloLaw’s tax dispute resolution and litigation practice, was sent by Royal LePage to their national conference in Halifax to present to their real estate agents on common and significant tax issues that arise from real estate transactions. Dean enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the agents, who were very […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Valentine Gurfinkel, Student-at-Law Shareholder loans—loans given by a corporation to its shareholders—are a common business practice. It is often a perk shareholders receive for investing in the company. It is also a common way for business owners to extract money from their corporation. However, under the Income Tax Act (ITA) […]
HazloLaw’s Tax Litigation Lawyer, Dean Blachford was recently quoted by Bloomberg BNA in an article about the Tax Court of Canada’s decision in CBS Canada Holdings Co. v. R. As explained by Mr. Blachford in the article, the decision has implications on judicial efficiency and access to justice. If you would like to read the […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Karen Cheung, Law Student A shareholder who receives a benefit from his or her corporation is required to report the value of the benefit as income. If that benefit is not reported, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) can reassess the shareholder for the value of that benefit under section 15(1) […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Valentine Gurfinkel, Student-at-law For tax purposes, goods and services bought and sold in Canada fall into three categories: Taxable supply, Exempt supply and Zero-rated supply. The type of supply a business sells profoundly affects its tax liabilities and benefits. Too many businesses run into trouble with the Canada Revenue Agency […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Karen Cheung, Law Student Canada’s tax laws allow the CRA to hold directors personally liable for their corporation’s source deductions, non-resident withholdings and GST/HST debts. This is known as “directors’ liability”. But directors may be able to shield themselves from this personal liability using the “due diligence defence”. This article […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Karen Cheung, Law Student According to the law, corporations are distinct “people” and generally the CRA can’t pursue one person for the tax debts of another person. Canada’s tax laws, however, allow the CRA to hold directors personally liable for their corporation’s failure to remit source deductions, non-resident withholdings and […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Karen Cheung, Law Student If you own a restaurant, the CRA has its eyes on you. Auditors frequently investigate restaurants for potential unreported income and HST/GST. Often, the outcome is bad for restaurant owners. According to the results of an access to information request conducted by HazloLaw – Business Lawyers, […]
OTTAWA, Ontario – April 20, 2018 – HazloLaw Tax Litigation Lawyer Dean Blachford and Law Student Karen Cheung have been published in the April 2018 edition of Tax Advocate. Their article explores the legal tests for determining when income is situated “on reserve” for purposes of obtaining an exemption under Section 81 of the Income Tax […]
[av_heading heading=’HazloLaw – Business Lawyers proud to have contributed to 2018 E-iure Compendium’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote modern-centered’ size=’24’ subheading_active=” subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” custom_class=”][/av_heading] [av_hr class=’default’ height=’50’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’ custom_border=’av-border-thin’ custom_width=’50px’ custom_border_color=” custom_margin_top=’30px’ custom_margin_bottom=’30px’ icon_select=’yes’ custom_icon_color=” icon=’ue808′] [av_one_fifth first][/av_one_fifth] [av_three_fifth] [av_textblock size=’14’ font_color=” color=” custom_class=”] HazloLaw – Business Lawyers, with the assistance of Corporate Immigration […]
[av_heading tag=’h2′ padding=’15’ heading=’Webinar Video: What to do when the CRA Contacts You’ color=” style=’blockquote modern-quote’ custom_font=” size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ custom_class=”] Presented by Hazlolaw’s Dean Blachford and Welch LLP [/av_heading] [av_two_third first] [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/p51K5yoCWHQ’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ custom_class=”] [/av_two_third]
OTTAWA, Ontario – January 30, 2018 – HazloLaw Tax Litigation Lawyer Dean Blachford’s recent article providing information regarding the tax system and the powers of the Canada Revenue Agency has been published in the Canada China News, an Ottawa-based publication serving the Canadian Chinese Community. Given the number of Chinese entrepreneurs contributing to Canadian society, HazloLaw […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Brittany Rossler, Law Student The Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) recovered $291.7 million as a result of audit activities related to real estate in Ontario from April 2015 to June 2017.[1] Individuals must now report the sale (or deemed sale) of their principal residence on their annual tax return.[2] With the CRA’s […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Isabelle St-Hillaire, Law Student Clients facing financial difficulties may be tempted to transfer property to a related party in an attempt to shelter their assets from creditors. Professionals working in the field of bankruptcy and insolvency know, however, that in the context of tax debts section 160 of the Income […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Valentine Gurfinkel, Law Student This article explains how tax evasion is prosecuted under the ITA and why criminal defence lawyers should consider partnering with a tax lawyer to help them successfully defend their clients against tax evasion charges. WHAT IS TAX EVASION Broadly speaking, “tax evasion” is the wilful non-compliance […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Brittany Rossler, Law Student INTRODUCTION Your clients rely on you to advise them on how to structure their work relationships in order to meet their goals and comply with the law. A worker’s status as an employee or independent contractor has significant implications, including whether or not their hirer has […]
Update on the proposed changes to taxation of private corporations As many of you have heard in the news, on July 18, 2017, the Government of Canada released a consultation paper with proposed changes to the taxation of private corporations. The proposed changes, if implemented, would have limited or eliminated some of the common tax […]
OTTAWA, Ontario – October 6th, 2017 – HazloLaw – Business Lawyers is proud to announce that they have established a new annual fund in memory of their late colleague, Dr. Robert McMechan at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. Described as a “tax litigation expert” by the Ontario courts, Robert McMechan served as Senior […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Valentine Gurfinkel, Law Student The Voluntary Disclosure Program (“VDP“) allows taxpayers to avoid penalties, interest, and criminal tax evasion charges by disclosing formally unreported income and paying tax on it. As the Federal Government invests greater resources in tax enforcement, the VDP is becoming a vital tool for accountants in […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer As a Chartered Professional Accountant, you work with tax legislation every day and there is no one who understands your clients’ financial reporting obligations better than you. So, when CRA reassesses one of your clients, it’s only natural that you want to prepare the objection. There are a number of […]
Dean Blachford, Tax Litigation Lawyer Valentine Gurfinkel, Law Student With the Federal Government of Canada taking an increasingly aggressive stance against tax evasion and offshore investment, professionals advising foreign nationals doing business in Canada and Canadians doing business abroad need to make sure their clients comply with Canadian tax laws. Failure to properly report and […]
[av_three_fourth first] [av_heading tag=’h1′ padding=’10’ heading=’HazloLaw – Business Lawyers to sponsor: Canada 150 – 150th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation in the Americas: Canada’s Role Regarding the Protection of Human Rights’ color=” style=’blockquote modern-quote modern-centered’ custom_font=” size=” subheading_active=” subheading_size=’15’ custom_class=”][/av_heading] [av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” custom_class=”] HazloLaw – Business Lawyers is proud to sponsor Canada 150 – […]
On August 7, Robert McMechan, Senior Tax Counsel at HazloLaw – Business Lawyers passed away. Robert was a person of integrity. Respected by his colleagues and appreciated by his clients, Robert was a brilliant individual, caring father, and husband. Described as a “tax litigation expert” by the Ontario Courts, Robert joined the firm as Senior Tax […]
Hugues Boisvert, Founder & CEO of HazloLaw – Business Lawyers, spoke on the panel for artists along with Jessie Parker, professional visual artist and Joshua Smith, accountant at Welch LLP. The event was organized by Artists’ Legal Services Ottawa (ALSO) to provide various tax and corporate advice to artists in Ottawa. Hugues’ practice focuses on […]
We are proud to announce that our Tax Litigation lawyer Robert McMechan has been selected as category winner for Tax Law (Canada) in Corporate LiveWire’s 2016 Global Awards. Robert has acted in the private sector as counsel for more than twenty years for corporations and individuals with AV peer-review rating from Martindale-Hubbell for highest level of professional excellence. The Corporate […]
April 21 2016 Robert McMechan, Senior Tax Litigation Lawyer What are the Panama Papers? The Panama Papers, which have caused public outrage, have been the topic of much news lately. They are confidential documents containing information such as the identities of the holders of offshore accounts that were leaked from Mossack Fonseca, a law firm […]
Position HazloLaw – Business Lawyers is seeking a driven tax litigator to join its thriving Tax Dispute Resolution Group. The ideal candidate will have 5-15 years of experience working in Tax Litigation. The HazloLaw – Tax Dispute Resolution Group provides an excellent opportunity to work closely with our clients to advise them in the process […]
A remission order is extraordinary measure that allows for relief when relief in other tax legislation is unavailable. The chances of a remission order being successful is rather slim, but it may be the only option in some cases. It can be used in circumstances such as when filing deadlines provided for in tax legislation […]
We are proud to announce that our Tax Litigation lawyer Robert McMechan is a recipient of the 2015 Canada “Top Tier in Tax Litigation” Legal Award. Robert has acted in the private sector as counsel for more than twenty years for corporations and individuals with AV peer-review rating from Martindale-Hubbell for highest level of professional excellence. The Corporate Livewire […]
October 19 2015 One of the benefits of incorporating your business in Canada is that you can protect yourself and your personal assets from any liabilities. If you’re incorporated then, generally speaking, neither you nor your employees are personally liable for any actions taken while working on behalf of your business. Like everything else, however, […]
Our Tax Lawyers in Ottawa Explain the Various Benefits of Incorporating in Canada When you decide to incorporate your business, in the simplest of terms, you engage in the legal process of declaring a corporate entity as separate from the owners. There are many benefits of incorporation, including the fact that the assets of the […]
August 5 2015 In litigation, deadlines are everything. They ensure parties act in a reasonably quick and efficient manner, and make sure that court resources are not wasted. In many cases, they also prevent people from making a case so far down the road, that the defendant simply cannot defend itself due to insufficient memory […]
Canadian Tax Evasion Landscape In the recent years, the Canadian tax evasion landscape has been changing dramatically. With increasing international cooperation and the Canada Revenue Agency’s ambitious plan to prosecute tax evaders, it has been making many Canadians nervous. In addition, Canada has recently joined an international agreement to give those hiding income from offshore […]
Canadian taxpayers are required to self-assess and report their income each year. Often taxpayers reported their income incorrectly because errors are made. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will reassess a taxpayer’s income if the agency discovers that a taxpayer has reported his or her income in an incorrect manner. Reassessments of a taxpayer’s income can […]
If I make a complaint against the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), will I be subjected to more audits and penalties? This is a common concern that Canadian taxpayers share when they have an issue with the CRA. However, you can be assured that this concern has been addressed. In 2007, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights […]
Claims for the SR&ED tax credit are denied for various reasons. Fortunately, this is not the end of the road. With the right guidance and preparation, there are steps you can follow to give your case the best chance and save you taxes. This article will discuss what you can do when your SR&ED claims […]