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TFSAs for U.S. citizens: might be worthwhile with some caveats

Since the Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) was introduced in 2009, it has been used by Canadians to earn investment income on a tax-free basis. Many U.S. citizens, however, have shied away from this account for several reasons. But should TFSAs really be avoided by all U.S. citizens? While there are some roadblocks to owning ...

Exploring Section 1031 Rollover in US Real Estate for Canadians

With current low capitalization rates in the Canadian real estate market, many Canadians are looking south of the border to the United States for higher returns on their real estate investment. While the US real estate market potentially offers opportunities for growth, there are numerous tax traps for the unwary Canadian investor. Today, we ...

Tax compliance or tax avoidance? Supreme Court rules in Loblaw’s favour

The Supreme Court’s recent tax appeal ruling in favour of Loblaw Financial Holdings ended a lengthy and complicated dispute over how a dissolved subsidiary company – run from Barbados – should be taxed. Here’s what happened and why businesses should be paying attention: Case background Loblaw Financial, owned by grocery retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd., ...

Ontario tweaks Business Corporations Act, making it more business-friendly

This summer, two small but important amendments to the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) came into effect. These amendments eased restrictions on governance so that Ontario businesses can operate more efficiently, ensuring consistency with other Canadian jurisdictions.   Effective July 5, 2021, the new amendments also reduced approval thresholds for written shareholder resolutions and led to ...

Psychedelics treatments are in the public eye  

Recently the use of psychedelics in health care experienced an interesting turning point – not through political gains, but through television.      Hulu’s latest hit, Nine Perfect Strangers, depicts the use of psychedelics as a tool in mental health therapy. Now, for anyone who’s seen the show – which follows a wellness retreat gone wrong – it’s ...

US Tax Update: Remote Sellers Sales Tax

Bloomberg Law reports that state revenue agencies are finally getting serious about requiring out-of-state retailers to collect tax on e-commerce transactions, frustrated that less than half of such sellers are in full compliance with their sales tax rules. The Wayfair Ruling Under the US Supreme Court’s holding in Wayfair, it was decided that electronic ...

Bid to repeal Section 280E up in smoke: How the recent ruling affects American cannabis

Regulatory support will always trail behind public acceptance and one prominent example of this is the US’s outdated Internal Revenue Code Section 280E as it relates to the cannabis industry.  In a long well-publicized battle, Oakland-based Harborside Inc. (listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange and operator of a number of cannabis dispensaries) had been arguing that Section 280E is unconstitutional. This section bars state-legal cannabis companies from making use of standard business deductions other ...

Procurement prep and supply chain stability in 2021

Roughly a year ago, we published a blog post outlining the ways in which businesses needed to pivot in order to succeed amidst early–COVID supply chain shortages. Little did we know that one year later, the world would continue to be impacted by pandemic-associated delays.  Partial and full lockdowns across Canada (and the world), border restrictions, ...