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CRA to Postpone New GST/HST Position on Mutual Fund Trailing Commissions

CRA’s recent position on mutual fund trailing commissions has raised an important GST/HST issue for investment dealers and mutual fund managers. In a December 22, 2025 GST/HST interpretation, CRA rejected the argument that GST/HST should not apply to trailing commissions earned by a dealer who did not originally arrange the sale or issuance of the mutual fund trust units or shares. The issue involved two types of dealers: the “Original Dealer,” who arranged the original sale or issuance of the mutual fund units or shares; and the “New Dealer,” who later became entitled to trailing commissions even though it did not arrange the original sale. CRA’s position was that, effective July 1, 2026, mutual fund trailing commissions paid by mutual fund managers to both Original Dealers and New Dealers would generally be subject to GST/HST. That is a significant administrative change. It means CRA does not appear to distinguish, for GST/HST purposes, between the dealer who originally arranged the ...
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Can More Than One Person Be Penalized for a Trust’s T3 Filing Failure?

A recent CRA internal technical interpretation raises an interesting question: if a trust fails to file a T3 return, fails to respond to a demand to file, or makes a related false statement or omission, can CRA assess the penalty against more than one person? The short answer is: yes, in principle — but CRA appears to take a restrained approach. CRA acknowledged that more than one person or partnership could technically meet the statutory conditions for liability under subsection 163(5) of the Income Tax Act. That means the penalty is not necessarily limited to the trust alone. However, CRA also stated that, in most cases, one assessment against the trust itself would normally be sufficient and appropriate to carry out the purpose of the Act and enforce compliance. In other words, CRA does not appear to view subsection 163(5) as a tool for automatically penalizing everyone connected to the trust filing process. The important exception is where another person has separate, serious, or i...
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  When CRA’s MyAccount Notice Is Not Enough: Lessons from Haddad The Federal Court’s decision in Haddad v. Canada (Attorney General), 2026 FC 614 is important not because it changes the TFSA over-contribution rules, but because it reminds CRA that a digital notice path is not automatically a meaningful notice path. The taxpayer received an email notification from CRA on June 4, 2020, saying that a message was available in his CRA MyAccount. The problem was that he could not access MyAccount. During the COVID period, he was working during the day, and CRA’s phone availability was reduced. He believed that if CRA had a serious issue with him, CRA would also contact him by written letter, phone, or a more detailed email. Years later, in May 2024, he learned from a CRA agent that he had been assessed TFSA over-contribution taxes for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 taxation years. He had not noticed the problem earlier because the amounts had been deducted from his annual income tax refund...
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  加拿大税务居民卖重建房：别只看 principal residence，还要看 GST/HST Zhang v. The King, 2026 TCC 71，是纳税人 Mrs. Zhang、Mr. Tan 向 Tax Court 申请执行与 Crown 达成的税务和解协议。 这个案子对税务居民很有现实意义。夫妻重建住宅后短期出售，CRA 认为相关出售属于 GST/HST taxable supply，并加了 gross negligence penalty。后来双方谈 settlement，纳税人接受 Crown 的 counteroffer 后，Crown 在正式 settlement minutes 里又试图加入一个未明确谈成的 2014 self-supply assessment 条件。 Tax Court 没接受。 法院重点说了两件事： 第一，税务和解不一定要等正式文件签完才成立。只要 offer、counteroffer、acceptance 在核心条款上已经闭合，就可能已经形成 binding settlement agreement。 第二，ETA Schedule V, Part I, s.4(b) 要求之前存在 s.191(1) 或 s.191(2) deemed taxable supply，但不要求 CRA 已经发出 assessment。 对 tax resident 的提醒是：重建住宅后短期出售，不能只从“自住房”角度看，也要看 GST/HST 下的 builder、self-supply 和 exempt supply 规则。和 CRA/Crown 谈 settlement 时，也要特别注意哪些期间、哪些 assessment、哪些 waiver 被明确包括在内。 相关法条：ETA s.191(1)；ETA Schedule V, Part I, s.4(b)；Tax Court Rules s.170。 房子重建后出售，到底是自住房出售，还是 GST/HST taxable supply？Zhang 案给税务居民的一个重要提醒 很多加拿大税务居民在处理房产时，会自然以为： “这是我住过的房子，我卖掉它，应该就是普通自住房出售。” 但在 GST/HST 规则下，事情不一定这么简单。 如果一个人重建、翻新...
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税务诉讼的双面镜 —— 当“证据孤岛”撞上“程序正义”   2026年的加拿大税务司法环境，给跨境持有人上了一堂很直接的课：在税务争议里，事实并不会自动变成法律上可被承认的事实，程序也不会自动替代实体证明。近期值得并排阅读的两类案件，恰好把这两个层面照得很清楚。一面镜子，是 Prince v. Canada (Attorney General), 2026 FC 367。它呈现的是：纳税人相信自己“实际上已经交过税”，但最终无法把这件事转化为可识别、可归属、可排除重复申请风险的 entitlement。另一面镜子，是 Choptiany et al. v. The King, 2022 TCC 112。它呈现的不是纳税人证据不足，而是当争议进入诉讼程序之后，国家一方也必须遵守 discovery、披露和法院命令，程序失范会产生真实后果。两案放在一起看，看到的不是同一个问题的两端，而是税务争议中两套完全不同的失败机制：一套发生在 entitlement 证明层，一套发生在 litigation conduct 层。 先看 Prince。这个案子的核心，不是纳税人是否主观上相信自己被扣过税，也不是法院是否同情其处境，而是申请人有没有证明：他现在要求 CRA 给予的那项 credit，确实可以在法律上被连接到他本人名下。根据公开摘要，Prince 是加拿大税务居民，CRA 在审计后认定其 2006 至 2014 年间通过两个以色列银行账户持有加拿大上市公司股息而未作申报。之后，他试图依据 Income Tax Act 第 221.2 条，请求 CRA 将其主张已被预扣的 Part XIII 税款，作为 credit 用于抵减其在加拿大的欠税。联邦法院支持 CRA 的处理结果，认为在 entitlement 没有被证明的情况下，CRA 没有义务依据不完整资料作出有利推定，更不必承担同一笔税款可能被重复 credit 或 refund 的风险。 这个案子最值得注意的地方，在于它把“钱确实少了”和“税法上可主张 credit”这两件事彻底分开了。很多跨境纳税人直觉上会认为，只要银行已经扣了钱，账户余额已经减少，这就足以说明税已经交过了。但 Prince 告诉我们，普通银行流水、账户对账单、甚至事后形成的私人记录，本身并不会自动构成足以支撑税务 credit 的完整证...
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Case Comment: Price v. Canada (Attorney General) , 2026 FC 367 – The Heavy Burden of Proof in Foreign Tax Credits Citation: 2026 FC 367  Court: Federal Court of Canada Judge: Ferron J.  Date of Decision: March 18, 2026 1. Overview The Federal Court’s decision in Price v. Canada serves as a stark reminder for Canadian tax residents with offshore holdings: the "equitable" desire to avoid double taxation does not relieve a taxpayer of the strict evidentiary requirements under the Income Tax Act (ITA). Even where it is plausible that foreign tax was withheld, the absence of a verifiable audit trail—specifically in the taxpayer's own name—can lead to a total loss of tax credits. 2. The Facts The applicant, a Canadian resident, held shares of Canadian public corporations in two Israeli bank accounts. Following a CRA audit of the 2006 to 2014 taxation years, the CRA assessed him for failing to include dividends from these accounts in his income. The applicant sought a cred...
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  Guindon 案与税务罚款的制度边界 在加拿大税务体系中， Gross Negligence Penalty（ITA 163(2)） 常常被视为一种非常严厉的处罚。由于罚款金额可能达到应纳税额的 50%，很多纳税人会提出一个问题：这种罚款是否已经接近刑事处罚？ Guindon v Canada 一案为这个问题提供了重要的司法解释。 Case Guindon v Canada Guindon v Canada 2015 SCC 41 Rule 在该案中，加拿大最高法院指出， gross negligence penalty 属于民事性质的税务罚款（civil penalty） ，而不是刑事处罚。 法院认为，这类罚款的主要目的并不是惩罚犯罪行为，而是为了 维护税收制度的合规性和完整性 。因此，适用于刑事程序中的一些保障（例如 Charter 第 11 条）并不自动适用于这类税务罚款。 FG Interpretation 从 Fiscal Geometry (FG) 的角度来看，Guindon 案揭示的是 税务处罚在制度结构中的位置 。 在 FG 模型中，税务制度的运行通常分布在不同的制度层级： 日常合规与申报 行政调整与审计 行政罚款 刑事处罚 Guindon 案明确指出， 163(2) 的 gross negligence penalty 仍然处在行政处罚层级 ，而没有进入刑事制裁的制度区域。 这种划分实际上维持了一种制度平衡：税务机关可以通过罚款维持制度纪律，但这种处罚仍然属于税务行政体系的一部分。 Practical Insight 在实际税务争议中，Guindon 案有两个重要意义： 第一，它确认 CRA 可以在行政框架下施加 gross negligence penalty 。 第二，它也提醒纳税人和专业人士，这类罚款虽然不是刑事处罚，但在金额和影响上仍然具有非常强的制度压力。 因此，在面对 163(2) 争议时，关键问题往往回到两个方面： 行为是否真的达到 gross negligence 的门槛 CRA 是否能够提供足够证据支持这一结论 FG Insight 总结 Guindon 案说明，税务罚款并不自动等同于刑事处罚。 从 Fisca...
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