Tax

  • September 22, 2026

    P.E.I. to dismantle IRAC, replace it with ‘specialized bodies’

    Prince Edward Island will move to dismantle a 35-year-old quasi-judicial tribunal and replace it with two new decision-making bodies that will continue to deal with various appeals and disputes.

  • September 22, 2026

    Earnouts: Where sellers should spend their negotiating capital

    In mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions, there is a constant struggle between the vendor and purchaser regarding risk allocation. This tension often arises from uncertainty regarding future performance, issues identified during due diligence and disagreements regarding value. One common mechanism for bridging that gap is an earnout, which makes part of the purchase price contingent on the post-closing performance of the target business.

  • September 21, 2026

    Ottawa’s flagship bill on ‘Building Canada Strong’ aims for labour reforms, faster project reviews

    The Carney government says its proposed “Building Canada Strong” legislation and supporting Cabinet directive will ensure that federal reviews and decisions on major project proposals are completed within one year of a “comprehensive” submission by the project’s proponents. The 243-page Building Canada Strong Act (Bill C-39) was introduced in the House of Commons Sept. 21 by Transport Minister and Government House leader Steven MacKinnon.

  • September 16, 2026

    Ottawa & judges dispute if Carney gov’t gave meaningful effect to judicial pay commission’s work

    A behind-the-scenes bid by federal chief justices to make future recommendations from the federal independent judicial pay commission process binding on Ottawa is on hold as representatives of Canada’s 1,200 federal judges and Federal Court associate judges sue the Carney government for allegedly not giving “meaningful effect” to the work and non-binding advice of the latest quadrennial Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission (Giardini Commission.)

  • September 15, 2026

    Carney unveils tax break to spur $1T in investment, announces airport privatization

    Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney introduced the new Productivity Mega Deduction at the first Canada Investment Summit in Toronto. The tax incentive will increase the share of assets covered from 15 per cent to more than 65 per cent. He also announced that Canada will seek private investment through long-term concessions to operate the country’s four largest airports.

  • September 15, 2026

    EI premium rate unchanged for 2027, but maximum insurable earnings rise

    The employment insurance (EI) premium rate for employees will remain at $1.64 per $100 of insurable earnings in 2027, but the maximum annual insurable earnings threshold will rise to $70,800 from $68,900 in 2026, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission has announced.

  • September 15, 2026

    Canada copied U.K. employee ownership incentive but skipped its guardrails

    On Nov. 26, 2025, British MP and then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves stood up in the House of Commons and cut Britain’s employee ownership trust relief in half. “I will reduce that relief to 50 per cent,” the chancellor said, “retaining a strong incentive for employee-owned companies.”

  • September 14, 2026

    Ottawa to prioritize advance tax rulings for major projects

    The federal government has announced that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will prioritize advance income tax ruling requests related to investments of $1 billion or more in Canada.

  • September 10, 2026

    Who can deduct tax dispute legal fees? Kruivitsky v. The King

    In general, a person can dispute a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax assessment by first filing a Notice of Objection. The dispute may make its way to the Tax Court of Canada and beyond and the respective legal expenses are deductible from income.

  • September 08, 2026

    Federal judges’ legal tab so far tops $1M as they take constitutional pay dispute to court

    Ottawa has agreed that the federal judiciary reasonably incurred more than $1 million in legal fees and disbursements to participate in the independent quadrennial process that is meant to depoliticize determinations of federal judicial remuneration and avoid pay disputes.