Reading Time: 6 minutes Jean-Baptiste Colbert said, “The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to procure the largest quantity of feathers with the least possible amount of hissing.” I suspect that this is the closest that most would equate tax and the arts. But the arts provide the livelihood of artists, and income tax applies to that […]
About Hugh Neilson
Working from Home: Income tax issues
Reading Time: 5 minutes UPDATE FROM THE AUTHORS In the November 30, 2020 Economic Statement, the Government announced the following relief for Canadians working from home during the pandemic: To simplify the process for both taxpayers and businesses, the CRA will allow employees working from home in 2020 due to COVID-19 with modest expenses to claim up to $400, […]
Shared Custody Parenting: Income Tax Issues
Reading Time: 6 minutes Since the introduction of the Federal Child Support Guidelines (FCSG) in 1997, custody arrangements have affected child support obligations for Canadian parents. The greatest flexibility applies to “shared custody” situations. Under the FCSG, a child is in shared custody where each parent “exercises a right of access to, or has physical custody of” the child […]
Travel and Taxation
Reading Time: 6 minutes In his 1966 song “Taxman”, then-Beatle George Harrison sang the line “if you drive a car, I’ll tax the street”. While that may exaggerate our tax system, taxation of travel takes many forms. One form of travel taxation is via road tolls. Highway 407, Ontario’s only Express Toll Route, is not presently delivering revenues to […]
Tax Treaties
Reading Time: 6 minutes The Canadian income tax system can be complex by itself. The complexities expand significantly where the tax systems of other countries are also relevant. Most nations have a network of “Income Tax Conventions”, more often referred to as “Tax Treaties”, to govern the interaction of their tax systems with those of other nations. But this […]
Death and Taxes – When the Certainties Collide
Reading Time: 6 minutes As the cliché goes, the only certainties in life are death and taxes. When the former occurs, the Personal Representative(s) (formerly known as the Executor(s)) of the Estate must address the latter. Taxes become more complex in the year of death, and the period of Estate administration. This article provides a brief overview of some […]
Taxes? Reasonable?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Although many Canadians may disagree when reading various media reports or when filling out their own returns, the government and the Department of Finance generally consider our tax system to be reasonable. The term “reasonable” shows up with surprising frequency in our tax legislation and jurisprudence. Is That Deduction Reasonable? The Income Tax Act (ITA) […]
Paying Other People’s Taxes
Reading Time: 6 minutes Keeping up with our tax obligations is challenging when times are good, and even more so when the economy turns. Painful though it is to manage our own tax obligations, becoming liable for taxes actually payable by other people can cause even greater distress. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has amazingly broad collections powers bestowed […]
Is Good Luck Taxable?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Easy Money There seem to be plenty of opportunities to win – big and small – in our lives, from lotteries to radio contests to a friendly wager with a friend. Whether it’s $10 on who wins the golf game, or $10 million from the lottery, does the tax man share in our good fortune? […]
The Indian Act – Exemption from Taxation
Reading Time: 7 minutes The Canada Revenue Agency notes on its website that “We recognize that many First Nations people in Canada prefer not to describe themselves as Indians. However, we use the term Indian because it has a legal meaning in the Indian Act.” For the same reason, the author uses the term in this article. Aboriginal persons are […]
