On September 8, 2023, Tax Executives Institute, Inc. ("TEI") submitted comments to the Canadian Department of Finance regarding the Department's proposed tax penalty for transactions held subject to Canada's General Anti-Avoidance Rule ("GAAR"). TEI's comments focused on the need for the GAAR penalty to have a true due diligence defense to its imposition and include a significant fault requirement, both are which are necessary to avoid having taxpayers report all their transactions so as not to be subject to the penalty. TEI's comments were prepared under the aegis of its Canadian Tax Committee, whose Chair is Steve Saunders. Benjamin R. Shreck, TEI Tax Counsel, coordinated the preparation of TEI's comments.
Committee