Duff Presents Abusive Tax Avoidance And The General-Anti Avoidance Rule Today At Toronto

David Duff (UBC) presents Abusive Tax Avoidance and the Future of the General-Anti Avoidance Rule at Toronto today as part of its James Hausman Tax Law and Policy Workshop Series hosted by Benjamin Alarie:

Canada enacted a statutory general-anti avoidance rule (GAAR) in 1988 in order to limit the scope of the traditional Duke of Westminster principle that taxpayers are entitled to rely on tax-motivated legal arrangements to avoid tax laws that might otherwise apply. After over 30 years of experience with the GAAR and more than 20 years of GAAR jurisprudence, the federal government released a Consultation Paper in August 2022, considering various amendments to “modernize” and “strengthen” the GAAR. This presentation is based on Professor Duff’s response to the GAAR Consultation, as well as a more conceptual article on the rationale for and appropriate design of general anti-avoidance rules that was published in 2020. 

Since the federal government may introduce draft changes to the GAAR in the Federal Budget on March 28, 2023, the presentation on March 29 may also be a good opportunity to reflect on proposed amendments.