Canadian Lawyer

26 www.canadianlawyermag.com LEGAL REPORT TAX FAST-TRACK SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE REQUIREMENTS Conditions of eligibility: SOURCE: Tax Court of Canada Practice Note No. 24 audits and assessments and tax disputes," Le Saunier says, as the agency has increased audit capacity and technological means. " That trend was there before the pandemic, but it will continue." Canada Revenue Agency steps up auditing Although auditing by the CRA has slowed down during the pandemic, the agency has also become more active in auditing with increased resources over the past few years, says Le Saunier. And one COVID-inspired area of auditing will be residency issues, he says, as some people had to stay in certain jurisdictions when the pandemic broke out last year and governments introduced "safe harbour" rules. "There was a bit of tolerance on the part of the tax authorities to make sure that people who were forced to stay were not estab- lishing a residence in the jurisdiction where they were forced to stay," he says. The CRA has issued guidance on these international income tax issues, generally in line with those released by the OECD, which provides administrative relief to prevent hardship to taxpayers and unintended tax consequences. Still, "there will definitely be litigation" concerning the residency of individuals and permanent establishments for businesses, both of which establish the right of taxation of a jurisdiction, as some taxpayers or corpo- rations may have had stays that were longer than the rules permitted. And although timely audits remain a concern, objections filed against a notice of assessment have been working much more smoothly, he says. One ruling that tax lawyers noted is the Federal Court decision in Iris Technologies Inc. v. Canada (National Revenue), 2021 FC 526. In that decision, the CRA disallowed a technology company to claim the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The case is at a preliminary stage — a motion to strike has been made by the minister of finance — and has not been heard on the merits yet. But "the underlying facts show that Canadian tax authorities will not hesitate to deny claimed benefits if they think the statutory conditions are not satisfied," Le Saunier notes. General procedure appeals A reply to the notice of appeal must have been filed Both parties must agree in writing to apply for a fast-track settlement conference and must file a joint written request to the attention of the Chief Justice or Associate Chief Justice applying for the settlement conference

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