Recent Posts

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  Segura Mosquera v. R. – FCA: No appeal from Nil assessment

  Oct 10, 2018 By Bill Innes

  Categories:

  • Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases
  • Federal Income Tax
  • Personal Tax, Estate & Wealth Planning

  Précis: Ms. Mosquera received several Nil assessments from CRA in respect of her 2010 taxation year. She appealed to the Tax Court and Justice Owen dismissed her appeal on the basis that there is no jurisdiction to appeal a Nil assessment. Ms. Mosquera appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal which also dismissed her appeal. Although the Crown sought costs the Court of Appeal ordered that the parties each bear their own costs.
  Segura Mosquera v. R. – FCA: No appeal from Nil assessmentREAD MORE »
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  Sycheva v. R. – TCC: Appeal of net worth assessments allowed in part to recognize loan repayment

  Sep 12, 2018 By Bill Innes

  Categories:

  • Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases
  • Federal Income Tax
  • Personal Tax, Estate & Wealth Planning

  Précis: The taxpayers, husband and wife, were reassessed on a net worth basis for the 2009-2011 taxation years. The taxpayers made three arguments: 1. The wife, Mrs. Sycheva, had received a gift of $422,000 U.S. in 2005 from the estate of her late parents which the taxpayers kept intact until 2009 and used to cover some of their expenses in the years under appeal. 2. They claimed to have received a loan of $119,000 Cdn. from a Mr. Kogan in January of 2009 which was repaid in cash in 2011. They argued that the repayment was made from the funds saved from the 2005 gift from the estate of Mrs. Sycheva’s parents. 3. They claimed to have received a loan of $123,000 Cdn. from a Mr. Kravchenko in January of 2009 which was repaid in cash in late 2010. Again, they argued that the repayment was made from the funds saved from the 2005 gift from the estate of Mrs. Sycheva’s parents. The Tax Court accepted the evidence of the Kogan loan but rejected the taxpayers’ other two arguments. Since the success on the appeal was split, the Court made no order as to costs.
  Sycheva v. R. – TCC: Appeal of net worth assessments allowed in part to recognize loan repaymentREAD MORE »
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  Tang v. R. – TCC: Net worth assessment reduced by 84 percent

  Sep 21, 2017 By Bill Innes

  Categories:

  • Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases
  • Federal Income Tax
  • Personal Tax, Estate & Wealth Planning

  Précis: Mr. Tang was assessed for the 2005, 2006 and 2007 taxation years on the basis of net worth analysis. This amounted to additional income for the 2005 to 2007 taxation years in the amounts of $122,100, $291,663, and $74,943 as well as gross negligence penalties in each of the taxation years. Mr. Tang came to Canada in 1994 as a business immigrant and was involved with rental properties and also bought and sold real estate. He left Canada in 2009 and was no longer a resident. Mr. Tang, who insisted on representing himself notwithstanding the advice of the Court, argued that the sums alleged to be unreported income arose from loans from family members and other non-taxable sources. Amazingly (for this type of net worth case) the Court accepted the bulk of his evidence and directed the reassessments be reduced by 84%.
  Tang v. R. – TCC: Net worth assessment reduced by 84 percentREAD MORE »
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  Truong v. R. - TCC: $1.8 million increase in net worth not explained by “Ziploc bags of cash”

  Feb 17, 2017 By Bill Innes

  Categories:

  • Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases
  • Federal Income Tax
  • Personal Tax, Estate & Wealth Planning

  Précis: A net worth assessment of the taxpayer revealed a $1.8 million increase in her net worth from 2005 to 2009. She was assessed for both income tax and GST on the unreported income and taxable supplies at issue. She had a variety of explanations for the increase including a particularly amusing story about her brother bringing her Ziploc bags of cash from her boyfriend. The Court was not amused and dismissed the appeals (apart from a $4,800 error in math) and sustained the imposition of gross negligence penalties. Costs were awarded to the Crown subject to the right of the parties to make submissions on costs within 30 days.
  Truong v. R. - TCC: $1.8 million increase in net worth not explained by “Ziploc bags of cash”READ MORE »
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  684761 B.C. Ltd. v. R. - TCC: Additional assessment did not vacate prior assessment

  Dec 01, 2015 By Bill Innes

  Categories:

  • Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases
  • Corporate Tax
  • Federal Income Tax

  Précis: In 2013 the taxpayer appealed to the Tax Court from an assessment in respect of its taxation year ending June 30, 2008. In 2014 it received a “Notice of Additional Assessment” imposing penalties pursuant to subsections 163(1) and (2) of the Income Tax Act in respect of the same taxation year. The taxpayer moved in the current appeal “determine if the ‘notice of additional assessment’ [for its 2008 taxation year] received by the Appellant is really a reassessment” and, if so, that the reassessment of income for the appellant’s 2008 taxation year before the Court is no longer valid” [para. 1].
  684761 B.C. Ltd. v. R. - TCC: Additional assessment did not vacate prior assessmentREAD MORE »
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  Boroumand v. R. - TCC: Tax Court sustains net worth assessments

  Nov 13, 2015 By Bill Innes

  Categories:

  • Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases
  • Federal Income Tax
  • Personal Tax, Estate & Wealth Planning

  Précis: This is a classic net worth case where Mr. Boroumand reported aggregate income of roughly $40,000 in the years 2003 to 2007 and was reassessed for additional amounts totalling roughly $3.7 million for the same taxation years.
  Boroumand v. R. - TCC: Tax Court sustains net worth assessmentsREAD MORE »
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  Agostini v. R. - TCC: Court upholds net worth assessments in the face of taxpayer’s far-fetched evidence

  Sep 10, 2015 By Bill Innes

  Categories:

  • Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases
  • Federal Income Tax
  • Personal Tax, Estate & Wealth Planning

  Précis: This was a more than usually colourful net worth assessment case involving, inter alia, a wife ratting on her husband to CRA, the taxpayer’s mother contradicting the taxpayer’s evidence on the stand and an alleged safe full of cash that no one else in the family claimed to have ever seen. Put simply, Mr. Agostini attempted to defeat net worth assessments for 2007 and 2008 on the basis that prior to his marriage in 2004 he had lived frugally with his parents who paid most of his expenses (including buying clothes for him).
  Agostini v. R. - TCC: Court upholds net worth assessments in the face of taxpayer’s far-fetched evidenceREAD MORE »
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  Mehravaran v. R. - TCC: Court affirms net worth assessments based on power of attorney

  Sep 09, 2015 By Bill Innes

  Categories:

  • Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases
  • Commodity Tax
  • Federal Income Tax
  • Personal Tax, Estate & Wealth Planning

  Précis: Ms. Mehravaran was estranged from her husband for several years. Although they lived under the same roof they barely communicated. Her husband and her son, Amin, were engaged in businesses of importing goods, rugs, bicycles, boats, all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles.
  Mehravaran v. R. - TCC: Court affirms net worth assessments based on power of attorneyREAD MORE »
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  Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. v. R. - TCC: Taxpayer allowed to amend notices of appeal to cover fresh reassessments

  Jul 24, 2015 By Bill Innes

  Categories:

  • Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases
  • Corporate Tax
  • Federal Income Tax

  Précis: The appellant was assessed for its taxation year ended December 31, 2006 on July 14, 2011. It filed an objection and, subsequently, an appeal to the Tax Court. It was again assessed in respect of the 2006 taxation year on April 19, 2013. That assessment increased its net taxable income by roughly $2 million.
  Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. v. R. - TCC: Taxpayer allowed to amend notices of appeal to cover fresh reassessmentsREAD MORE »
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  Sarmadi v. R. - TCC: Net worth assessment - Court rejected evidence of loan from father

  Jun 15, 2015 By Bill Innes

  Categories:

  • Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases
  • Personal Tax, Estate & Wealth Planning

  Précis: The appellant was subject to net worth assessments in 2003 and 2004 alleging that he had failed to report rental and business income as follows: (i) the appellant failed to report rental income of $20,905 and $13,816 in the respective 2003 and 2004 taxation years; and (j) the appellant failed to report business income of $49,206 and $68,900 in the respective 2003 and 2004 taxation years.
  Sarmadi v. R. - TCC: Net worth assessment - Court rejected evidence of loan from fatherREAD MORE »