Canada: Sales Taxes: VAT, GST

Canadian taxpayers, including content creators, influencers, and digital entrepreneurs, who earn income from digital marketing activities—including online advertising through platforms such as Google AdSense, promotional services linked to NFT projects, and sponsorship arrangements with offshore entities—often assume that this income is not subject to GST/HST or is automatically zero-rated because it involves non-Canadian counterparties.

Real property owners in Canada should be aware that their tax obligations may differ depending on whether a property is used for residential (such as renting as a home or apartment) or for commercial purposes (such as renting for business use).

CRA real estate tax audits have entered a new phase of sophistication, with the Agency increasingly relying on third-party data sources — most notably MLS listings — to identify potential non-compliance.

The taxpayer operated a personal care home in Newfoundland and Labrador and leased the building from an affiliated company. Beginning in March 2019, it paid rent to the affiliate, and the rent included GST/HST.

The decision in Fiera Foods Company v The King provides important guidance on how the Tax Court of Canada evaluates disputes involving GST/HST input tax credits (ITCs) following a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax audit.

A New Zealand court has ordered Gisborne farmer John Bracken, the country’s largest tax fraudster, and his family to forfeit millions of dollars in assets connected to his crimes, concluding a lengthy legal dispute over whether the property held in a family trust could be retained.

In Caddell v. The King, 2026 TCC 27, the Tax Court of Canada examined whether two individual taxpayers were required to self-assess and remit GST under the self-supply rules in subsection 191(1) of the Excise Tax Act after occupying a newly constructed home.

The Federal Court of Appeal's decision in Canada v. LBL Holdings Limited addresses an important question at the intersection of tax law and Indigenous rights: when is a supplier required to collect and remit GST (Goods and Services Tax) on sales ...

A good friend who's a lawyer in the thick of things in the commercial building space recently prognosticated that with all of the pressure on Commercial Builders to close new home and (particularly)...