Indirect Tax

Gordon Gibson was born in Vancouver in 1937. He attended the University of British Columbia (B.A. Honours Mathematics and Physics '59), Harvard Business School (MBA - Distinction - '61) and subsequently did research work in political science at the London School of Economics. He has been involved in a number of businesses and is currently on the Board and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Westshore Terminals Income Fund.

In politics, he served as Assistant to the Prime Minister (1968-72) and ran in three federal elections. He was elected to the Legislature of British Columbia in 1974 and served as both MLA and Leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party 1975-79. He spent 12 years on the Canada West Council co-authoring "Regional Representation" (1981), and authored "What If the Wheels Fall Off?: The Case for a Constituent Assembly" (1992). In 1994, he joined the Fraser Institute as Senior Fellow in Canadian Studies, specializing in research on federalism and governance. He has published two books on the topic through the Institute entitled "Plan B: The Future of the Rest of Canada" (1994) and "Thirty Million Musketeers: One Canada for All Canadians" (1995) and edited and co-authored "Fixing Canadian Democracy", Fraser Institute, 2003. While now working independently from the Institute, he remains a Senior Fellow. He has done extensive research and publication on aboriginal issues.

In the fall of 2002, Gibson was commissioned by the British Columbia Government to design the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform. In September, 2004 Gibson published the monograph Challenges in Senate Reform: Conflicts of Interest, Unintended Consequences, New Possibilities as Public Policy Source Number 83, the Fraser Institute. Over the years he has been a regular and freelance columnist on a wide range of public policy issues with the Financial Post, the Vancouver Sun, the National Post and (currently) the Globe & Mail.

Join Robert as he discusses the hottest topics in GST/HST over the past year! This session will cover several topics, each aimed to give GST/HST professionals an up-to-date view of the indirect tax landscape and of key issues that may be top of mind for you, or your clients.

Rob Kreklewetz is a lawyer specializing in all Canadian Commodity Tax, Customs & Trade matters, and is a founding partner at Millar Kreklewetz LLP of Toronto.

Millar Kreklewetz LLP is a boutique law firm specializing in tax and trade law, has been consistently ranked as one of Canada’s top tax firms, with a client base comprised of national and international leaders in virtually every industry sector.

Rob has published over 500 articles and papers, spoken at over 175 conferences and seminars, and has over 20 years of experience in his areas of expertise. He is also a Past Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Tax Section.

In this session, Dan will analyze some of the common issues facing Joint Ventures & Partnerships in relation to indirect taxes. His insights will help provide practical solutions that can be implemented while minimizing risk of exposure.

This session will focus on recent, important developments in the areas of customs and international trade to help you mitigate your exposure to this complex area of indirect tax.

With Quebec jumping on the harmonization band-wagon, what are the implications for your national operations? Maryse will help identify the changes that matter most to you, and provide insights on how to deal with the new set of rules.

Maryse Janelle iis a Senior Manager with Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton's Commodity Tax Practice in Montréal. She is both a lawyer, and has obtained her Masters in Taxation. Maryse has over 15 years of experience working with indirect taxes, and currently focuses on clients having international activities in the manufacturing, service and entertainment sectors.

Symposium participants will get to hear David's expert views regarding the latest case law updates, and recent important developments in commodity tax jurisprudence.

David Robertson is a lawyer with Couzin Taylor LLP (the affiliated law firm of E&Y), in Calgary, and practices taxation law and tax litigation with a focus on Canadian Indirect Taxes including GST/HST, provincial taxes including PST, transfer pricing, Canadian Customs compliance and import/export laws. David has advised clients in a range of tax planning matters in connection with cross-border sales and transactions, outsourcing, e-commerce and internet-based enterprises, carrying on business in Canada, business acquisitions, corporate transactions and reorganizations, and general tax compliance and recovery matters. He has extensive experience dealing with the Canada Revenue Agency and provincial tax authorities in connection with tax audits and appeals. He routinely represents clients in respect of tax matters before the Tax Court of Canada, Federal Court of Canada and provincial superior courts.

David has also been actively involved in educational town-hall meetings throughout British Columbia over the past several months, helping inform citizens of the implications of the HST/GST transition.

This presentation will highlight the changing nature of the dispute resolution process, including increased controversy over demands for records, the scope of privilege and CRA discretionary decisions.

With such a dramatic turn of events over the past year, British Columbia's decision to revert back to a non-harmonized GST/PST system has a lot of companies feeling like deer caught in the headlights. Erin will help alleviate some of the shock and awe from the results of the referendum by providing balanced insight into the latest announcements from government, and practical implications for companies that do business in, or with British Columbia.

Erin Jensen is a Partner at KPMG who leads the Western Canadian Indirect Tax Recovery practice. She specializes in identifying opportunities to recover BC Social Service Tax and assisting clients with the implementation of the HST in BC and the reimplementation of the PST. Erin leads a team of eight professionals in Western Canada who work exclusively on indirect tax and disbursement recovery engagements. Erin has over ten years of experience in Indirect Tax and joined KPMG in 1997 as an articling student. She has obtained both her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Accountant (CA) designations.

This session will help Canadian businesses understand the myriad of U.S. Sales & Use Tax obligations that are often triggered by entering (even temporarily) the U.S.; Issues such as leasing of assets, expanding into the U.S. and what constitutes Nexus within a state will be discussed.

Scott Steinbring is a Partner in Grant Thornton's State & Local Tax practice in Houston, Texas. He has over 20 years of state and local tax experience, including 15 years experience in public accounting. Prior to entering public accounting, Scott worked for Brown & Root/Halliburton and for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Scott has extensive multi-state sales/use tax experience in a variety of industries including oil and gas exploration, production and refining, pipeline operations, construction, oilfield services, petrochemical processsing and other manufacturing operations. Scott has provided consulting services pertaining to a wide array of sales/use tax matters and issues.

Scott received his Bachelor's degree in Accounting at Texas State University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, and Institute for Professionals in Taxation.

This session will cover "non-traditional" F.I.'s including: investment corps', trusts, partnerships, and co-ownership arrangements. With many of their underlying assets used in commercial activities, Beverly will look at the requirement for these entities to report tax and their eligibility to claim ITCs; and will explore the DOF's announcement that it is considering capturing such entities within the SLFI rules.

Beverly Gilbert is the National Leader of our Commodity Tax Group at BLG and resides in their Calgary office. She is a chartered accountant and has a Bachelor of Administration degree. Beverly practises exclusively in the commodity tax area with over 20 years experience working with many businesses to help them properly collect and remit the correct amount of the goods and services tax (GST), harmonized sales tax (HST), and the provincial sales taxes. Beverly also has extensive experience handling tax disputes with revenue authorities and also has worked with industry groups and the Department of Finance on the HST reporting rules for financial institutions and pension plans. Prior to joining BLG, Beverly held the position of commodity tax practice leader at a major accounting firm. She was also employed with Revenue Canada for eight years as both a Technical Interpretation officer and a Senior Auditor and was with CRA when the GST was first implemented. Beverly is a nationally recognized tax consultant and has delivered numerous papers and spoken at various conferences and seminars including the CICA 2011 Commodity Tax Update Session.

This updated session will cut through the confusion of various rate changes, harmonization, recaptured input tax credits and recent court cases. Christina will help you understand how the rules apply in today's environment by providing a practical analysis of the important provisions and specific issues Western organizations are facing today.

Jason will focus on the indirect tax issues associated with trading various commodities in Canada and abroad. His discussion will focus on GST/HST, PST, Customs Duties, and Excise Tax (fuel) issues associated with trading physicals and financials. The overall purpose of the session is to assist indirect tax professionals identify risk in this space and control it on the trading floor.

Jason Riche is a lawyer and the leader of Deloitte's Calgary indirect tax practice. He has over 12 years of experience in the Canadian indirect tax marketplace, with a particular focus on serving clients in the financial services, energy and resource sectors.

This session is designed to help you navigate through the complex area of non-resident issues and permanent establishments. Let Rosemary be your guide, as she helps you and your company understand and deal with these risky issues.

Rosemary Anderson is a Chartered Accountant who has specialized in solving Canadian Sales Tax (HST, GST, PST and Excise Taxes) as well as customs issues since 1985. Formerly the partner in charge of commodity tax for Price Waterhouse in Vancouver, Rosemary has extensive experience assisting international clients with their Canadian tax and customs issues. Rosemary joined Thorsteinssons in 2001 and was appointed National Practice Group Leader in 2008.

An ideal way to end the Symposium, hear from senior government representatives from the Canada Revenue Agency in this timely report on the policy initiatives of the day and an update on the administrative and practical issues that have arisen over the last year.

Mark Worrall, CA is a Partner who leads KPMG's Indirect Tax practice in Vancouver and serves as Deputy Leader of the practice nationally. He has over twenty five years experience in Indirect Taxes including the federal Goods and Services Tax / Harmonized Sales Tax, the Quebec Sales Tax, provincial retail sales taxes and property transfer taxes.

Mark specializes in advising a wide range of private and public sector clients on Indirect Tax matters including refund claims, compliance, transaction planning including cross border transactions and dealing with Indirect Tax audits and appeals.

Mark has been a frequent speaker on sales tax matters at the annual Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Commodity Tax Symposium and the B.C. Tax Foundation. Mark is a member of the GST/HST Leaders Forum sponsored by the CICA and has served as a tutorial leader at the CICA In-Depth GST Tax Course. Mark also authored and co-lectured the annual CICA In-Depth PST Course.

Get the inside scoop on Pension Plans from two leading professionals in this 3-hour long, hands-on workshop.

Pension plan compliance has always been a particular challenge for taxpayers and their advisors as they try to cope with a complex maze of draft regulations and evolving interpretations. This optional workshop will provide a hands-on explanation of the complex world of Pension Plans, including a look at hybrids and other issues to help you unravel the maze!