Jamie Golombek is Managing Director, Tax and Estate Planning at CIBC Private Wealth Management, where he works closely with advisors and clients from CIBC Private Wealth Management, Wood Gundy, Imperial Service and other CIBC partners to deliver integrated financial planning and strong advisory solutions. Jamie is quoted frequently in the national media as an expert on taxation.
Last month, the Ontario Securities Commission announced that the five mutual fund companies implicated in late-trading and market timing activities back in 2003 have been given an additional two years to distribute any remaining settlement monies to affected investors. Coincidentally, the taxation of the settlement amounts received by mutual fund investors who held units in […]
Just as tax season is about to come to an end, investment advisors should take note of a recent decision that may affect their own personal taxes as they fi- nalize their 2008 tax returns The case (Diaz v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 114), heard late last year, involved Aldo Diaz, a selfemployed, investment salesman […]
Chief Justice Gerald J. Rip of the Tax Court of Canada invoked Ralph Waldo Emerson when summing up a case he decided last month (Leola Purdy, Sons Ltd. v The Queen, 2009 TCC 21) – “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” The dispute, which began as a classic question of income vs. […]
In a split 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada found that a Toronto couple, the Lipsons, engaged in abusive tax planning that offended the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR). Background The Lipson case, heard at the Supreme Court last April, actually began in 1994, when Earl and Jordanna Lipson wanted to buy a home. Jordanna […]
With the start of the winter semester, Canadian students returning to universities and colleges can breathe a (chilly) sigh of relief: last month, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision dealing with the non-taxability of scholarships awarded to students from their parents’ employer. To better understand the case (The Queen v Bartley […]
Most clients generally understand that they must report all their investment income annually on their tax returns. But clients are also responsible for tracking and reporting their capital gains on the disposition of their investments, despite the fact that very often they don’t receive a formal T5008 Slip (“Statement of Securities Transactions”) since the Canada […]
With the start of RRSP season just a couple of weeks away, advisors should pay close attention to the RRSP contribution limits, lest clients get reassessed by the Canada Revenue Agency on RRSP overcontributions. A case decided this past fall (Kerr v AGC, 2008 FC 1073) illustrates just such a scenario. Lindsay Kerr was advised […]
Need a little tax tutorial before plunging into another RRSP season? Bring yourself up to speed on this year’s tax changes with this succinct overview. 2008 tax brackets and personal tax credits 2008 saw a continuation of full inflation indexing of the federal tax brackets. The updated brackets are as follows: Untitled Document Range Rate […]
Every so often, a decision of the court reminds us of the importance of ensuring our clients understand their RRSP Contribution Statement on their annual Notice of Assessment. If our clients don’t understand it, we should be there to explain it to them or they may ultimately face severe penalty tax and interest on RRSP […]
One of the issues that comes up regularly in an estate situation is whether amounts received by the executor from the estate are taxable executor’s fees or rather should be properly considered a tax-free legacy from the estate. It’s critically important to ensure that the will is properly drafted to minimize any ambiguity later as […]