Law Commons^™

Legislated Interpretation And Tax Avoidance In Canadian Income Tax Law, David G. Duff, Benjamin Alarie

All Faculty Publications

Predictable statutory interpretation helps ensure the reliable operation of contemporary systems of taxation. Tax liabilities that are not clearly expressed and articulated by legislatures lead to over-reliance on litigation as a means to enforce and clarify legislative intent. For this reason, modern legislatures continually amend and draft new tax provisions, reformulating existing rules and introducing new ones to address ever-changing social and economic environments. Moreover, legislatures also respond with amendments directed at judicial decisions with which they disagree, as well as the transactions and arrangements at issue in these cases. As these amended and new rules are then subject to …

Carbon Taxation In British Columbia, David G. Duff

All Faculty Publications

Among alternative public policies to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs), environmental taxation represents a promising but often under-utilized approach-particularly in North America where the introduction of any new tax involves enormous political challenges. In Canada, however, British Columbia became the first North American jurisdiction to implement a consumption-based environmental tax specifically designed to reduce GHG emissions when BC's provincial government enacted a carbon tax effective July 1, 2008.

This paper provides a general overview and initial evaluation of British Columbia's carbon tax, explaining the background to the announcement of the tax in the Provincial Government's …

Justice Iacobucci And The 'Golden And Straight Metwand' Of Canadian Tax Law, David G. Duff

All Faculty Publications

The article examines the contributions of Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci in the Canadian tax jurisprudence. The traditional Anglo-Canadian and American judicial approaches to tax statutes was taken into account. Key information about significant tax decisions made by Iacobucci is presented. On the other hand, his judicial restraint and legislative supremacy was also evaluated.