In 2000, a wealthy B.C. family invested approximately $26 million in a KPMG tax product in the Isle of Man, a self-governing territory. This tax product was targeted for high net worth Canadian residents, resulting in the family paying close to no tax over several years. As a result of this investment, the B.C. family […]

Donna Marie Stancer and Deanna Lynn Lavalley have been convicted of six fraud related charges after filing nearly $192-million in false expenses for themselves and 224 clients of their now closed Vernon tax preparation company, DeMara Consulting. Here at Barrett Tax Law we are already assisting a number of taxpayers who were defrauded by Demara […]

August 31, 2015 – Michael Citrome’s article ‘A Defective GST/HST New Housing Rebate Claim Can Lead to Costly Tax Trouble’ published in the Ottawa Business Journal touches on the issues that arise if you didn’t give a lot of thought to the GST/HST New Housing Rebate. “If you recently bought a newly-built home, you probably […]

Income Splitting is a tax planning strategy designed to shift income from a taxpayer paying a high rate of tax to another taxpayer paying tax at a lower rate. The Income Tax Act has many provisions attempting to limit income splitting, but you should be aware of the opportunities. Some of them can be found […]

This summer, a number of small and medium-sized business owners have been asked by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to participate in the Liaison Officer Initiative (LOI) – a part of the CRA’s 3-point plan to provide early tax compliance support to businesses. Through the LOI, selected businesses would receive in-person guidance and information to […]

Self-employed cab drivers are required by the Canada Revenue Agency to register, collect and remit HST/GST from their fares to the government. This requirement does not correspond to a certain amount of money being made by cab drivers. Rather, if you drive a cab as a self-employed individual, you must be registered. For others, the […]

August 7, 2015 – Michael Citrome’s blog post “Moving Provinces? Avoid Surprise Tax Bill” that was posted in the Ottawa Business Journal discusses the issues regarding income taxes and moving between provinces. “People move between provinces all the time. Here in Ottawa, we are constantly leapfrogging between Quebec and Ontario, whether it’s for a meeting, […]

Many IRS filing deadlines have recently been changed by Congress, in H.R. 3236, the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015. Effective as of December 31, 2015, if you are required to file with the IRS for your C corporation, partnership, or FBARs, then your due dates have likely changed. Partnerships […]

The Department of Finance Canada’s Budget 2015 proposes to put into operation a new streamline reporting system for foreign assets. Presently, Canadian resident individuals, partnerships, corporations, and trusts that own a total value of more than $100,000 of specified foreign property must disclose detailed information regarding each property by filing Form T1135, Foreign Income Verification […]

If a Canadian taxpayer owns certain foreign property, the collective cost of which exceeds $100,000 CDN, the taxpayer must file a Form T1135 (Foreign Income Verification Statement). The Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) recently provided its views on whether digital currency is considered “specified foreign property” under the reporting rules in section 233.3 of the Income […]