Canada Revenue Agency tax dispute statistics

Settlement, Withdrawal & Adjudication

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The Canada Revenue Agency Appeals Branch provided our firm with the following statistics related to the number of tax dispute and tax litigation files along with the rates of settlement, withdrawal and adjudication.

In June 2012, the CRA reported that:

the CRA Appeals Branch receives between 80,000 and 110,000 notices of objection to dispute tax reassessments;
approximately 90% of taxpayer notices of objection relate to income tax matters;
approximately 92% of notices of objection are resolved at the objection stage (Nota bene. The CRA did not define “resolved” and the meaning of “resolved” is unclear e.g., the CRA did not break-out the percentage of taxpayers who abandoned their files and the percentage taxpayers who were successful in whole or in part and decided to discontinue their tax appeal);
in or about 8% of taxpayers who filed notices of objections to reassessments chose to appeal the CRA’s decision to the Tax Court of Canada; and
in or about 1/3 of the appeals in the Tax Court are abandoned, 1/3 are settled and 1/3 are adjudicated.

For additional analysis, see our Insights.

Insights

A CRA reassessment and dispute do not start from a neutral position. They shape the dispute, now and later. This article explains how the record develops and the impact on teh range of outcomes.

Notice of Objection Failed to Define the Dispute | Some objection-stage failures are obvious. Others remain invisible and lead to the same result. (941624 Alberta Ltd. v. HMK)

CRA reassessment and notice of objection. Large corporation regime. How a failure to define the dispute can stop an appeal early or narrow what can be argued later.

Notice of Objection Window | What Carries Forward | What is placed on the objection record here is not neutral

Filing a Notice of Objection places part of the dispute on the record before it is treated as final. That record shapes how the matter is assessed and what can still be changed.

CRA Dispute Record Formation | Decisions Made Before Clarity

Decisions made after a CRA reassessment form the dispute record before they are recognized as final. That record shapes what can be said, changed, and defended later.

CRA Reassessment | What Happens Next - What appears to require action is visible. What will shape the outcome is not.

A CRA reassessment sets out a position. It does not show what will determine the outcome. How it is interpreted, carried forward, and placed on the record defines what can still be changed.

Cross-Border Rental & Withholding Reassessment Control - When the structure holds, and where it can still be moved - C&W Offshore Ltd. v. HMK

A cross-border equipment rental led to a withholding tax reassessment under Part XIII. This case shows how much of the exposure can still be reduced when the structure holds.

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Canada Revenue Agency tax dispute statistics

Insights