On July 16, 2010, the Department of Finance released a significant package of income tax technical amendments and explanatory notes.  As I am writing this blog, I have a binder of material in front of me that contains all of the material released by the Department of Finance and it is approximately 2 ½ inches thick.  Oh joy!  Great summer time reading!!

In all seriousness, though, this material is very welcome news given that it contains significant provisions some of which have been outstanding for approximately 8 years.  Let’s hope this package gets passed into law soon.

One of the significant amendments included in the income tax technical package are the restrictive covenant proposals.  Such provisions are horrifically complex.  Our firm wrote a paper on the restrictive covenant draft proposals in 2008.  For those interested in an exercise in complexity, feel free to read the paper.  Such provisions are wide sweeping and will change how most purchase and sale agreements are handled from a taxation perspective.  For further information, take a look at our blog of April 10, 2008.

For Canadian residents spending time in the United States (“US”), it is important to ensure that the heat you receive next time you venture south is only felt from the sun, and not the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). 

The past six weeks have been very busy with attending and speaking at various conferences.  At three of the conferences (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta Tax Roundtable, Canadian Tax Foundation Prairie Provinces Conference and the STEP National Conference) the CRA was in attendance answering various questions posed by practitioners.  The topic of domestic trusts was high on the agenda for questions posed by practitioners. 

In an episode of Corner Gas, the main character, Brent, (who is single, has no children and is 40 years old) finds himself overwhelmed by a hot-wheels-tossing 6 year old boy and besieged under a kitchen table while babysitting for a friend.  Brent enlists the help of his mother, Emma, who quickly gains control of the situation and explains her two-pronged philosophy for disciplining kids:

Wow, time flies when you're having fun ....!

May and June are conference months with our firm recently speaking at the STEP Pacific Rim Conference and the Canadian Association of Gift Planners Conference in Edmonton. Our firm will also soon be speaking at the Canadian Tax Foundation Prairie Provinces Conference and the STEP National Conference.  Certainly no shortage of activity.

Uncle Sam Wants YOU to file US tax returns…and he has recruited foreign banks into his army to report you!  Now you will get caught if you don’t file returns and report foreign income.