“Don’t go to jail for your clients”: STEP

Advisor.ca is live-tweeting the 15th annual STEP conference. Here’s a selection of our tweets:

9:55 AM: Surplus stripping does not inherently constitute tax avoidance. Income splitting is ok if there’s a real economic transaction. #STEP

Read: CRA cracks down on tax evasion

9:50 AM: FCA says capital losses are only intended to provide relief for true economic losses. Needs to have business reality associated with loss

9:47 AM: CRA lost a lot of treaty shopping cases, so has decided to consult on measures; might create benefit limitation clauses (like US) #STEP

9:46 AM: Consultation on graduated tax for trusts and estates released June 3. Read Advisor.ca’s story here. #STEP should comment

9:43 AM: Since 2006 CRA has identified $4.58b in unpaid offshore tax. 240 audits of HNW grps but only $195 million in unpaid. Less than $1m each

9:41 AM: Taxpayers had found T1135 difficult to fill in despite the fact that it was only a few boxes to check. CRA will clarify instructions #STEP

Read: A late T1135 can be costly

9:39 AM: Whistleblower tax legislation is very un-Canadian, says Paul Gibney. Worried this will extend to domestic evasion. All whistleblower rewards will be subject to tax. Of course. #STEP

9:38 AM: Intl Electronic Fund transfers of $10,000+ will have to report to FINTRAC and CRA starting in 2015. 18.5 million reports in 2011-12 #STEP

9:35 AM: Safety deposit box deduction change will raise $155 million. Oh yea? This is how far they wanted to go to close loopholes. #STEP

9:32 AM: CRA will continue to monitor success of trust loss and corporate loss trading rules. This is warning shot. Could make retroactive next time.

Read: CRA beefs up foreign property disclosure requirements

9:30 AM: Trust loss trading rules changing so use of corporate losses restricted after acquisition of control. Corp loss trading restricted too #STEP

9:26 AM: Synthetic disposition arrangement: if you’re entering into for tax benefit, risk gone, and you won’t dispose of property within 1 yr #STEP

Byren Innes @advisorca Not just banking. This applies to Insurance as well and now “son of #FATCA” is coming from the UK.

9:22 AM: CRA lost on Sommerer case. So changed law to amend non-resident trust rules so more trusts are Canadian resident, taxed in Canada #STEP

9:19 AM: Non-eligible DTC change now means you’re worse off if you earn property income through a corporation. #STEP may want to take up with CRA

9:18 AM: Budget 2013: lifetime cap gains exemption, adoption tax credit, donor supercredit, flow thru extension only good things. #STEP

9:17 AM: Bill C48 to receive royal assent in next few weeks. #STEP Read the bill.

9:14 AM: Taxes are going to rise in many places. The taxman cometh with a vengeance. #STEP

9:11 AM: FATCA has gone international. 70 countries in the wings to sign up. Russia just signed up. Expect info exchange. Sounds like they’re going to keep the info gathered under FATCA. #STEP

9:10 AM: Countries will ask clients who their bankers and advisors are in exchange for leniency. Be careful. Brazil arrested bankers. #STEP

9:09 AM: Aiding and abetting tax evasion is a crime. Can’t identify too much with your clients. Don’t go to jail for your clients. #STEP

9:08 AM: US collected $5.5 billion in evaded taxes but didn’t tell us how much it cost to recover those taxes. Amnesties becoming less generous #STEP

9:07 AM: People are being jailed for tax evasion. Avoidance not a crime, but “avoision” now: not illegal but morally wrong. #STEP

Read: IRS issues guidelines for tax compliance

9:05 AM: Anti avoidance tax rules throughout Latin America, except Brazil. All crimes money laundering comes to Singapore. #STEP

9:03 AM: Bank secrecy is dead. FATCA starts Jan 1. Ppl being “bludgeoned into conformity.”#STEP