TaxBreaks

In this latest podcast episode, Kenneth Keung and Kim G C Moody describe the April 7, 2022, Canadian Federal Budget proposal that will introduce a new “Residential Property Flipping” income tax rule. Kenneth and Kim discuss the history and context behind the principal residence exemption, what the new proposals state, proposed exceptions to the new rule and whether or not this new rule is necessary. Happy listening!

The 2018 Canadian Federal Budget introduced proposals that will require certain trusts to disclose significant information about the trust. Later in 2018, draft legislation was introduced to implement such proposals to become applicable for the 2021 taxation year. However, the proposals ended up getting delayed until the 2022 taxation year and the draft legislation was never implemented into law. A revised set of proposals was released on February 4, 2022, with a bombshell that “bare trusts” would now be subject to the new reporting regime. Despite numerous concerns relayed to the Department of Finance about this new requirement, the August 9, 2022, package of amendments released by the Department did not contain any significant changes. Accordingly, practitioners and affected taxpayers will need to be aware of these expanded reporting requirements and get ready now! Happy listening!

As a follow up to their last podcast on the Jackman court case, Kenneth Keung and Kim G C Moody chat about the dangers of owning personal-use assets inside a corporate vehicle.

In this podcast, Kenneth Keung and Kim G C Moody review a recent Tax Court of Canada decision – Bruce Jackman / Nancy Jackman v. HMQ 2022 TCC 73. This case is a rather entertaining case (at least for tax geeks 😂) which dealt with the amount, if any, of the taxable benefit received by the use of a boat owned by a corporation that operated a marina business. Some of the marketing activities involving the boat and the Jackmans might have even been pleasurable and fun! The blunt decision by the Tax Court Judge – who found in favour of the Jackmans – is refreshing and a good reminder of the law on personal use benefits that might be received by shareholders when using corporate assets. Happy listening!

Our firm’s July 5, 2021 podcast described the saga of Bill C-208 (a Canadian private members bill that provides for inter-generational transfers of certain shares of Canadian-controlled private corporations) that received Royal Assent on June 29, 2021 that was accompanied a day later by a very misleading and confusing press release by the Department of Finance that seemed to call into question whether or not Bill C-208 would be respected by the Canadian government as immediate and valid law.

Many Canadians and parliamentarians were very confused by the June 30, 2021 press release. The House of Commons Finance Committee Chair convened a special meeting for July 20, 2021 to discuss the June 30, 2021 press release and called Department of Finance officials to address questions. However, on the eve of the committee meeting, the Department of Finance released an additional press release which “affirmed” that Bill C-208 was valid law with immediate effect upon Royal Assent. It also announced its intention to introduce amendments later this year to address “surplus stripping” concerns but acknowledged that any amendments, if passed by Parliament, would only have impact on the later of either November 1, 2021, or the date of publication of the final draft legislation.

Accordingly, this podcast discusses the July 19, 2021 Department of Finance press release, the July 20, 2021 House of Commons Finance Committee meeting and what should affected taxpayers do now?

On June 29, 2021, Bill C-208 received Royal Assent. The passing of this private member’s bill was a bit surprising given the rarity of such bills passing. The bill enables inter-generational transfers of certain property to occur with the benefit of the transferor claiming the capital gains deduction—something that could not previously happy under long-standing law.

This podcast—hosted by Kim G C Moody, Kenneth Keung and Aasim Hirji of Moodys Tax—walks through the bill and discusses opportunities and areas where the bill may not wholly facilitate its policy objectives. The podcast also provides context and history as to how Bill C-208 came to being proposed and discusses concerns about how the legislation can provide opportunities to be abused. The podcast finishes by discussing the implementation/effective date of the legislation.

Is it current law? The Department of Finance stated in a June 30, 2021 news release that it intends to introduce legislation to clarify that these amendments would apply starting January 1, 2022. Can the Department of Finance indeed do that? What is the current law regarding bills that do not have an explicit application date (like Bill C-208)?

On this episode of the podcast, Kenneth Keung and Kim G C Moody go in-depth on a topic they touched on previously in a blog post titled “Tax Planning Arrangement – When Tax Treatment Collides with Accounting Treatment and How This is Like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off .”

Kim G C Moody and Kenneth Keung wrap up the 2020 year with a discussion about prescribed rate loans.

Kim G C Moody and Kenneth Keung discuss the latest federal government subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS). What is it and why is it necessary? Find out in the latest episode.

Well, it’s not Christmas yet, but it’s never too late to start year-end tax planning for year 2020. In our latest TaxBreaks Podcast, Kim G C Moody and Kenneth Keung discuss a few year-end planning tips for private business owners, such as paying salary versus dividends, and the importance of maximizing contributions to registered plans. Happy year-end planning!