The Canada-EU Trade Agreement, which was provisionally implemented last fall, establishes a very different origin verification process than we’re used to under NAFTA. Cyndee Todgham-Cherniak takes us through the changes.

In Canada, most financial services are exempt from tax under the Excise Tax Act. This means that financial institutions cannot charge GST/HST and cannot claim input tax credits to recover the GST/HST that they have paid to provide these exempt financial services.

On Feb. 27, 2018, the Minister of Finance introduced Canada’s 2018 federal budget, which looks to implement the excise duty framework for cannabis that was proposed in November 2017. The duty will generally apply to all products available for legal purchase, which at the outset of legalization will include fresh and dried cannabis, cannabis oils, and seeds and seedlings for home cultivation.

On Feb. 27, 2018, the Liberal government’s third budget announced that the government would be going forward with amendments to the Excise Tax Act (Canada) that are intended to levy GST/HST on management and administrative services provided by a general partner to its investment limited partnership.

On December 13, 2017, the Canada Revenue Agency released a revised update of its memorandum on the GST/HST voluntary disclosures program. The new document, GST/HST Memorandum 16-5 Voluntary Disclosures Program, replaces a draft memorandum released June 16, 2017 that had attracted considerable criticism.

Concurrent criminal investigations and civil tax audits are quite common where the Canada Revenue Agency believes that a taxpayer has knowingly failed to report income or remit taxes owing.

In Club Intrawest (2017 FCA 151), the Federal Court of Appeal dealt with a complicated scenario that the Court thought had been overlooked by the architects of the Excise Tax Act.

Rounds 2 and 3 of the NAFTA 2.0 negotiations have recently concluded. It is still too early to know what a NAFTA 2.0 will look like, or even which issues will make it into the final agreement. However, we are getting a better sense of each country’s priority issues and know that any of the proposed changes to NAFTA could significantly impact the way in which Canadian organizations do business.

On Sept. 8, 2017, Canada’s Department of Finance released draft legislation to amend the Excise Tax Act (Canada) with regards to investment limited partnerships, and was accepting comments until Oct. 10, 2017.

On June 9, 2017, the Canada Revenue Agency confirmed that it intends to dramatically narrow the circumstances under which taxpayers may obtain relief from penalties and interest under the CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program