Tax lawyers who you can rely on
Tax is one of the primary drivers of most estate plans. Structuring any transaction a certain way can lead to significant tax savings, and in some cases avoid multiple layers of taxation imposed under the Income Tax Act on the death of an individual, especially estates involving private corporation shares.
Additionally, inter vivos tax planning using corporations and family trusts can help reduce the effective tax rate for high net-worth families, while providing for a more seamless transfer of wealth upon the death of a family member.
Our tax lawyer has specialized knowledge of the Income Tax Act and experience dealing with the Canada Revenue Agency. If you have a tax issue, we can help.
Why Choose Us
Flat Fees
95% of our clients are charged predictable flat rates.
Specialization
We focus only on estate planning, probate, tax and corporate law.
Respected
With awards won and hundreds of 5-star reviews, we’re well known for our top-quality advice and friendly service.
Charitable
We donate 1% of all revenue to charity.
How our tax lawyers can help you
Our tax lawyers can help advise on any tax matter you are faced with, including:
- Post-Mortem Tax Planning: After a company owner dies, certain planning techniques, such as “loss carryback” and “pipeline”, are authorized under the Income Tax Act, and under the Canada Revenue Agency bulletins, to avoid double taxation on the value of the estate. Westcoast can help you effectively carry out such planning and minimize the tax on the estate so that more is available for distribution to the beneficiaries.
- Estate Freeze: An estate freeze is well known strategy under which, in general, the accrued growth of a private corporation is frozen so that the future growth can accrue in the hands of the next generation. Westcoast can provide tax advice to help you effectively carry out an estate freeze in respect of your private corporation.
- Notice of Objection: Once the Canada Revenue Agency issues a notice of reassessment to a taxpayer, a taxpayer has only 90 days to object to the reassessment. A notice of objection is, in general, a taxpayer notifying the Canada Revenue Agency that it disagrees with the position taken in the notice of reassessment and would like an independent appeals officer to review the taxpayer’s matter for the taxation years at issue. Westcoast can help you submit a detailed and well reasoned notice of objection based on the provisions of the Income Tax Act and established jurisprudence to obtain a favourable resolution to the matter.
- Voluntary Disclosure Application: The Canada Revenue Agency may grant relief from penalties and interest to taxpayers who come forward on their own to fix errors and omissions in their tax filings, up to ten prior taxation years, under the Voluntary Disclosure Program provided certain specific conditions are met. Westcoast can help you submit a voluntary disclosure application that meets all the requirements of the program.
- Family Trust: Family trusts are inter vivos trust, i.e., they are created during a taxpayer’s lifetime. Provided certain very specific conditions are met under the Income Tax Act, family trust could be an effective tool for tax minimization strategies and transfer of wealth involving private corporations to the next generation, while maintaining control. Westcoast can provide tax advice on the use of family trust and the income tax implications.
- Determination of Express and Bare Trust: Under the recent amendments to the Income Tax Act, express trusts and bare trusts are required to file a tax return unless one of the limited exemptions provided apply. Westcoast can provide legal determination of whether an arrangement constitutes a trust that must be reported under the Income Tax Act.
- Small Business Deduction Eligibility: Private corporations resident in Canada that meet certain thresholds are eligible for a reduced tax rate on their first $500,000 of active income earned by carrying on a business in Canada. Westcoast can help you determine whether your small business is eligible for such reduced tax rate, and if not, suggest ways that may make your small business eligible.
Incorporating a New Company
The corporate lawyers at Westcoast Wills & Estates can help you in incorporating a new company. We can advise if a company makes sense for you.
Corporate Reorganizations
The business lawyers at Westcoast Wills can guide you through a corporate reorganization in an easy to understand way.
Corporate Minute Books
Our corporate lawyers can help maintain your company’s corporate minute book and deal with the corporate registry, so that you can continue to focus on the success of your business.
Tax Law FAQs
Here are some of the most common questions that our tax lawyers routinely hear.
It is certainly true that both accountants and tax lawyers are uniquely qualified to help with taxes and financial matters. However, they each excel at different roles.
Tax accountants specialize in preparing and filing income tax returns. They also routinely give basic level tax planning advice.
Tax lawyers, on the other hand, specialize in tax planning and are the preferred choice for any kind of corporate reorganization or estate planning transaction. Tax attorneys have a more in-depth knowledge of the Income Tax Act and keep abreast with the latest jurisprudence on tax. It is for this reason that it is extremely common for accountants to work with a tax lawyer on complicated or high value reorganization and estate matters. Additionally, only tax lawyers can represent you in court over a tax matter.
The best tax lawyer for you depends on you and your personal circumstances. Given the rigorous training and examination process that lawyers in Canada are required to undergo to become a lawyer, it is hard to go wrong with a tax lawyer who specializes in the area you need help with and have been doing so in good standing for several years. However, the location where the tax lawyer practices, the firms they have worked for in the past, and the specific area they specialize in are all factors that need to be considered.
Additionally, most reputed tax lawyers would have completed a program called “CPA In-Depth Tax Program” which is a good filter you can use in selecting a tax lawyer. Additionally, it’s increasingly common for tax lawyers practicing in estate and trust taxation to also hold the TEP designation from the Society of Estate and Trust Practitioners Canada.
Lastly, and like most things in life, one can only know whether someone is good by meeting and talking them. A truly professional tax lawyer will listen to your tax issues in-depth, provide preliminary options, and inform you of the estimated costs. Also, they will direct you to the right professional if they are of the view that your issue may be better served somewhere else.
How much a tax lawyer costs depends mostly on two factors: location and experience. Some people associate quality with prices and tend to think that only the biggest law firms downtown can deliver high quality tax advice. However, that’s a myth. A law firm is a business, and each law firm has its specific target audience. The biggest law firms in Canada tend to serve the biggest businesses and ultra high net worth individuals. As such, even if you can afford a big-name law firm downtown, it may not be the right fit for you. The firm might not take you on as a client; under serve you, or charge you more than what you are comfortable paying. All this to say, the most expensive is not always the best – just like a good wine.
Back to the question, a general guide for what tax lawyers charge would be anywhere between $400 per hour for a small or mid-size firm to more than $1,000 per hour for a big law firm downtown.
That is expensive, but when you consider that the tax lawyer is saving you a tax bill of thousands or millions of dollars, it is money well spent.
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