The area of business law is exceedingly complex. Additionally, as businesses may span multiple jurisdictions and subject matters there are many important issues that need to be considered for your business to run smoothly. A corporate lawyer can assist with navigating the many documents and forms involved with incorporating a business, maintaining a corporation through [...]
A minute book is a compilation of corporate records. When incorporating, minute books include many documents including the Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, initial resolutions setting out officers, forms of share certificates and more. Following preliminary corporate set up there are events that should be recorded in the minute books such as changes of the corporation’s [...]
A non-disclosure agreement is a contract between parties wherein the parties restrict themselves from releasing confidential information regarding the other’s business operations. They arise when two businesses are contemplating doing business together. They function to protect information during discussions, proposals, reviews, and negotiations.
Directors are responsible for managing and supervising the management of the business and affairs of the corporation. Directors have a duty to act in the best interests of the corporation. Officers are people appointed by the directors of a corporation to specific positions. These positions may include the president, treasurer, or chairman of the Board. [...]
The largest advantage of incorporation is that a corporation is deemed to have its own separate legal identity. The corporation has a legal personality, existence, rights and duties that are distinct from those of the individuals comprising that group who constituted the corporation. Thus, a shareholder will not be liable to the debts and obligations [...]
A letter of credit (LoC) is a document issued by a bank (the issuing bank) at the request of its customer by which the issuing bank provides a binding undertaking to make a payment of money to a third party (the beneficiary). It is a financial contract between a bank, a bank’s customer and, typically, [...]
A joint venture (JV) is a cooperative relationship in which two or more business entities work together on a specific project or business activity, usually limited in duration to a specific time frame. In Canada, unlike, say, Mexico, there are no written rules governing JVs like there are for partnerships. While incorporating a new company [...]
If the claim is being brought in Canada, the short answer is no. Canadian courts are very welcoming and foreign plaintiffs are essentially treated on the same footing as local ones. However, Canadian defendants can avail themselves of certain procedures in order to “attack” the jurisdiction of the Canadian court, either by demonstrating that the [...]
Martin brings to the Firm what many lawyers seldom do: a passion for helping people resolve complex or unorthodox legal issues. This thirst for exploring what many hesitate to take on, coupled with over 20 years’ experience across a wide spectrum of practice areas and industries makes Martin a lawyer that you want acting on [...]
International Lawyers are retained when there is a legal challenge or opportunity that implicates a foreign jurisdiction. Perhaps you operate a business locally and want to franchise it abroad, or perhaps you want to sign contracts with foreign distributors to sell your product internationally or even open a subsidiary in another country. On the other [...]
In tax disputes, the burden of proof is on the taxpayer. This means, that it’s you that must prove that your position is correct. The CRA does not have to prove that their reassessment is correct. This entitles CRA employees to make assumptions and, in some instances, emboldens them to behave unreasonably. The best antidote [...]
Reaching a settlement agreement with the CRA is often the most efficient and affordable means of resolving a tax dispute. And indeed, our experience is that about 95% of tax disputes settle before going to trial. But negotiating a settlement in a tax dispute is very different from negotiating a settlement in normal litigation or [...]
If you’ve clicked on this question, the answer is probably “now”. There’s no downside to making the call. Plus, one of the keys to succeeding in a tax dispute is developing, at the outset, a winning-argument and then sticking to that argument throughout the entirety of the dispute. Often, the most damning evidence we have [...]
Canadian tax law imposes strict time deadlines on taxpayers who wish to dispute a Notice of Reassessment by the CRA. If you miss one of these deadlines, you lose all rights to dispute the reassessment, which may leave you with no choice but to pay the full amount. The day on which the CRA issues [...]
A typical tax dispute begins with the CRA conducting an audit. If the CRA does not agree with the amount of tax that you initially reported owing, they will issue you a Notice of Reassessment. Once the CRA has issued the Notice of Reassessment (and before the time deadline), you can file a Notice of [...]
There is hope. In 2016 the Auditor General released a report in which it found that 65% of taxpayers are fully or partially successful in objecting to a Notice of Reassessment. This does not include the taxpayers who go on to succeed after filing an appeal to the Tax Court of Canada. We often obtain [...]
A Notice of Reassessment (“NoR”) is very different from a Notice of Assessment (“NoA”). When you file your tax return, the CRA will process your return and issue you a NoA, usually within two to eight weeks. The NoA typically confirms the amount of tax that you owe based on what you reported in your [...]