Tax Court of Canada
Tax Court of Canada | |
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Established | 1983 |
Jurisdiction | Canada |
Location | Centennial Towers, 200 Kent Street,Ottawa,Ontario |
Authorized by | Tax Court of Canada Act |
Appeals to | Federal Court of Appeal |
Website | Tax Court Homepage |
Chief Justice | |
Currently | Eugene Rossiter |
Since | December 19, 2014 |
Part ofa serieson |
Canadian law |
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TheTax Court of Canada(TCC;French:Cour canadienne de l'impôt), established in 1983 by theTax Court of Canada Act,is afederal superior courtwhich deals with matters involvingcompaniesorindividualsandtaxissues with theGovernment of Canada.
Jurisdiction
[edit]Appeals of decisions of the Tax Court of Canada are exclusively within the jurisdiction of theFederal Court of Appeal.On occasion, theSupreme Court of Canadagrants leave to appeal a federal tax case from a decision of the Federal Court of Appeal where the question involved is considered to be of public importance.
Procedure
[edit]The litigation of a federal tax dispute is commenced by a taxpayer filing aNotice of Appealin the Tax Court of Canada. Cases may proceed either by way of Informal or General Procedure. The Informal Procedure is a simplified process available to taxpayers where the total tax and penalties (but not interest) at issue isCAD$25,000 or less per taxation year ($50,000 in the case of GST).
In General Procedure cases, discoveries are held by exchange of documents followed by the examination, without a judge, of one witness on behalf of each party. One or both parties may then apply for a hearing date where witnesses will be examined and cross-examined before a judge and documents formally entered into evidence. Trials in the Tax Court of Canada typically take one day or less, particularly where the parties have agreed on all or substantially all of the facts, but in more complex and contentious cases the trial may not be completed for several weeks or even months.
In the Tax Court of Canada, the onus is generally on the taxpayer to prove its case on abalance of probabilities,except in respect of civil penalties where theCanada Revenue Agencycarries theburden of proof.Generally, theMinister of National Revenueis represented by specialized tax litigation counsel from theDepartment of Justice.
The decision whether, and on what basis, to settle any particular case is made on a collaborative basis between theCanada Revenue Agencyand theDepartment of Justice.Settlements are generally based on a principled approach to the matter rather than strictly as a percentage of the dollar amount at stake. This differs from the rules of general civil litigation, but it does offer the opportunity to develop creative settlement strategies particularly where multiple taxation years or issues are involved.
In granting judgment in favour of a taxpayer, the Tax Court of Canada may order theMinister of National Revenueto reassess on the basis described by the judge in the reasons for judgment or, where the assessment or reassessment is wholly incorrect, the assessment or reassessment may be vacated entirely.
Costs are recoverable by the successful party in accordance with rather modest tariff amounts, but reasonable disbursements incurred by the successful party (including expert witness costs) are generally fully recoverable.
Judges
[edit]- Chief Judge
The HonourableEugene Rossiter
- Associate Chief Judge
The Honourable Anick Pelletier[1]
- Judges (in order of seniority)
- The HonourablePierre Archambault(supernumerary)
- The HonourableAlain Tardif(supernumerary)
- The HonourableDiane Campbell(supernumerary)
- The HonourableCampbell J. Miller(supernumerary)
- The HonourableBrent Paris
- The HonourableJudith Woods
- The HonourableRéal Favreau
- The HonourableGaston Jorré
- The HonourablePatrick J. Boyle
- The HonourableValerie Miller
- The HonourableRobert J. Hogan
- The HonourableSteven K. D'Arcy
- The Honourable Frank J. Pizzitelli
- The Honourable Johanne D'Auray
- The Honourable David Graham
- The Honourable Kathleen T. Lyons
- The Honourable John R. Owen
- The Honourable Dominique Lafleur
- The Honourable Sylvain Ouimet
- The HonourableDon R. Sommerfeldt
- The Honourable Henry A. Visser
- The Honourable Guy R. Smith
- The Honourable Bruce Russell
- Deputy Judges (alphabetical order)
- The Honourable D.W. Rowe
- The Honourable N. Weisman
Former judges
[edit]This sectionneeds expansion.You can help byadding to it.(March 2012) |
- Eric A. Bowie,Judge (1995-2019)
- Alban Garon,Chief Justice (1988-2004)
- Joe E. Hershfield,Judge (2000–2016)
- Terrence O'Connor[3]
- Louise Lamarre Proulx,Judge (retired 2008)
- The HonourableLucie Lamarre(retired 2021)
References
[edit]- ^"Prime Minister announces appointment of new Associate Chief Justice of the Tax Court of Canada".Prime Minister of Canada.2023-12-15.
- ^"About the Court - Judges".Tax Court of Canada.RetrievedMarch 23,2016.
- ^Tax Court of Canada,Current JudgesArchived2009-09-29 at theWayback Machine