Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9 41 Tax boutiques represent a wide variety of clients, but they all take a public policy perspective By Aidan Macnab T O P B O U T I Q U E S M ark Twain said the only difference between a tax man and a taxi- dermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. Advocating on behalf of the leftovers are the winners of Canadian Lawyer's top tax law boutiques list, whose lawyers say they are focused on federal fiscal policy changes, at home and in the United States. The winning firms span Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saska- toon, Ottawa, Victoria, Montreal and Buffalo, New York. Adam Aptowitzer is a partner at Drache Aptowitzer LLP, a top tax bou- tique that focuses on charities and non-profits. There are 170,000 charitable and non-profit organizations in Canada, with 85,000 of them being regis- tered charities. Employing two million people, with another 13 million vol- unteering, this sector makes up 8.1 per cent of Canada's GDP. This accounts for more than retail and is in league with mining and oil and gas extraction, which fetches 10 per cent, according to Imagine Canada, an umbrella organi- zation representing charities. Aptowitzer's firm has offices in Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary. He represents organi- zations of various religions, sports, health care, social welfare and poverty relief as well as their donors. Over the last few years, an issue of com- mon concern among Drache Aptowitzer clients was the former federal Conserva- tive government's audits scrutinizing the political activities of charities. In 2012, the Harper government instructed the Canada Revenue Agency to target charities involved in environmentalism (and opposed to the government's energy policies), human rights, animal rights, education, religion, foreign aid and anti-poverty. "The question until very, very recently is, you know, what can we do? Can we engage in public policy dialogue? What are the limits of what we can engage in?" says Aptowitzer. Charities can spend up to 10 per cent of their revenue on political action, but they are not allowed to endorse a candidate or party. "We were fighting those audits and those appeals," he says. "And then everything got suspended by Trudeau shortly after his elec- tion." But despite a different direction from a new government, Aptowitzer says, his cli- ents who were audited and suspended and those who were not audited are still con- fused about what they can and cannot do. FIGHTING FOR THE TAX PAYER

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