2018 Miller Thomson Federal Budget Review
With today’s tabling of the 2018 Federal Budget (the “Budget”), the federal government followed through on its previously expressed commitments to reform the taxation of passive income earned by certain private Canadian corporations. It has also continued to “tighten” the...
International Comparative Legal Guide to Private Client Laws and Regulation 2018 – Canada
Rahul Sharma and Nathalie Marchand authored the chapter for Canada in this international guide covering issues in private client laws and regulations across 28 jurisdictions, with contributions from Wendi Crowe and Martin Rochwerg. Download a PDF of the chapter or...
Proposed Changes to the Canada Revenue Agency’s Voluntary Disclosures Program
Introduction On June 9, 2017, the Canada Revenue Agency (the “CRA”) proposed significant changes to the Voluntary Disclosures Program (the “VDP”), which, if implemented, will have the effect of significantly narrowing the criteria for eligibility under the VDP and reducing...
Trump’s Overhaul of US Estate Tax – What does it mean for Canadians?
On September 27, 2017, Donald Trump released his “unified framework for fixing our broken tax code”, which included a one-line statement that would significantly impact taxation on death for many Americans and even some Canadians: “The framework repeals the death...
Important Proposed Amendments to the Taxation of Private Corporations
Overview In its 2017 Federal Budget release, the Federal Government noted a continued concern with tax planning strategies involving private corporations. While no new measures or amendments to existing rules were released as part of the 2017 Federal Budget, Canadian...
Estate Planning and Shareholders’ Agreements
The importance of a properly drafted shareholders’ agreement in the context of a business owner’s estate plan is often overlooked. Having a will, or multiple wills, to control what happens to the estate is important; but if a business owner...
The Pitfalls of Disability Planning
When a testator is considering leaving assets to a beneficiary who has a disability, there are important factors that the testator needs to examine to ensure that the disabled beneficiary is appropriately protected. With new and proposed tax laws, the...
Moore v. Sweet: Constructive Trusts and Unjust Enrichment
In Moore v. Sweet, 2017 ONCA 182, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered whether the appellant, Risa Sweet, or the respondent, Michelle Moore, was entitled to the proceeds of an insurance policy on the life of Lawrence Moore (the “Policy”)....
Granger v. Granger – Unjust Enrichment Where There Has Been A “Mutual Conferral of Benefits”
Unjust enrichment is a legal concept based on the general equitable principle that no person should be allowed to profit at another’s expense without a legal reason for doing so. The burden is on the plaintiff to prove: 1) an...
Introduction
On March 22, 2017, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau tabled the 2017 Federal Budget entitled “Building a Strong Middle Class” (the “Budget”). As is often the case, there was much speculation regarding the Budget, both with respect to how the...
