Tax Disputes

Taxpayers navigating tax audits, assessments and disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) face a complex, challenging and often times lengthy administrative process. Recent expansions of the CRA’s audit powers and enforcement activities have created an environment of heightened scrutiny for taxpayers looking to resolve audits and disputes efficiently.

The Osler Tax Disputes team is widely recognized as the leading practice in Canada, drawing from our tax planning, advisory and litigation practices, when needed, to strategically guide clients through a tax dispute. Our team has extensive experience proactively managing and successfully resolving audits and administrative appeals with the CRA. Clients are advised of their rights (and obligations) when dealing with the CRA and are assisted with substantive submissions to the CRA. Our in-depth knowledge of the tax law, the CRA’s decision-making processes, and years of experience successfully managing tax disputes, including by way of proceeding to litigation when necessary, typically enables clients to successfully resolve tax disputes without the need for a trial.

The Osler Tax Disputes team has extensive experience with resolving all aspects of transfer pricing disputes, including the management of transfer pricing audits, representations to the Transfer Pricing Review Committee, filing and pursuing requests for assistance with the Canadian competent authority, including under the Mutual Agreement Procedures applicable to Canada’s tax treaties, and the resolution of “secondary adjustments”, including withholding tax. Our lawyers work extensively with economists and other experts, as well as with leading advisors in other jurisdictions, in the process of resolving transfer pricing disputes with the CRA, through the competent authority process or through the courts, when required.

Representative Work

Osler Tax Disputes resolves a significant majority of matters on which our team is retained prior to the matter becoming public, such that many successes remain confidential.

Our team regularly works for many of Canada’s largest corporations in the oil and gas, mining, real estate, financial services, manufacturing and telecommunications sectors and other industries, often coordinating and managing multi-year audits and disputes. As well, our lawyers regularly act for multinational enterprises with substantial operations in Canada, coordinating efforts with advisors in other jurisdictions. Osler Tax Disputes has effectively resolved (litigating where necessary) highly complex disputes, including disputes involving the application of the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR), international tax issues (transfer pricing and FAPI), resource issues, income versus capital treatment, GST/HST, and other matters.

Our team has extensive experience representing numerous clients and obtaining successful outcomes in the following contexts

• resolution of procedural disputes regarding the conduct of a CRA audit, including requests for interviews and requests for access to privileged information
• resolution of significant issues arising from CRA audits, including the resolution of audits without adjustments following legal submissions in response to proposal letters
• resolution of matters under objection before CRA Appeals, including by reassessments being vacated entirely
• resolution of matters prior to or after the discovery process in litigation, including appeals to the Tax Court where the Crown consents to judgment in favor of the taxpayer
• representations in connection with referrals to the GAAR Committee and to the Transfer Pricing Review Committee
• disputes involving the rights of taxpayers to obtain information from the Department of Finance or CRA (including through the Access to Information process)

• successful representation of clients seeking legislative relief from the Department of Finance