Skip to content.

Tax Planning

Innovative, out-of-the-box thinking to advance your business objectives

Our Tax Group has the strategic skills, insight and practical experience to help you achieve your goals. With offices in all major centres of business across Canada, you benefit from our collaborative and comprehensive support.

" McCarthy Tétrault's 'excellent team' secures praise from clients for its 'very good knowledge of business' and its 'very quick turnaround on complex issues.' "
Legal 500, Tax (Client Interview)

Our Tax expertise and our knowledge of Canada’s tax regime is widely recognized. Helping our clients navigate the tax aspects of domestic and cross-border public and private mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, financings and securitizations, and other transactions, we bring clarity and pragmatism to complicated tax issues that could otherwise derail business goals. We have assisted on Canada’s most innovative, high-profile business transactions.

Thought leaders at the helm

With unique perspective and insight, many of our tax lawyers have served on advisory committees with senior government officials, and offered  recommendations to the Department of Finance on legislative amendments to Canada’s tax laws. You benefit from our strong understanding of and experience with policy development that can impact your business. Our team also serves as the Executive Editor of Canada Tax Service - the most comprehensive, in-depth legal analysis of Canada’s federal income tax system, published by Thomson Reuters - making us the trusted tax practice amongst tax professionals in Canada.

Superior support across all your tax needs

Guiding you through the full range of your tax concerns, we are passionate about your success. Clients regularly rely on us for strategic advice and practical assistance with all aspects of tax law, including:

Mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations — takeover bids, acquisitions and divestitures; tax consolidation planning; spin-offs; and public-private partnerships

Capital markets — development of complex financial products and instruments, equity and hybrid securities; major project financing; income and investment funds; securitizations; and pooled investment vehicles, including segregated funds and mutual funds

International tax — structuring tax efficient In-bound investments by non-residents; outbound investments by Canadian residents in foreign projects and business enterprises; and tax-efficient cross-border corporate group structures.

Energy — advising clients engaged in mining, oil and gas, pipelines, electricity generation, transmission and distribution and energy trading; establishment, mergers and acquisitions of royalty trusts; flow-through share financings; resource property purchase and sale; mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations of resource corporations; agreements with Aboriginal organizations; and day-to-day tax advice

Technology & licensing — licensing agreements; minimization of Canadian withholding taxes; and e-commerce

Financial institutions — planning for banks, life insurance corporations, mutual funds, pension funds and other financial institutions. 

Sales & Commodity Taxes — advising on all sales tax aspects of specific and complex transactions; structuring efficient investment structures from a sales tax perspective; providing audit defense ad litigation services regarding sales tax audits and assessments

Private Equity & investments — participating in the formation of private equity funds with investments across a broad range of industries; structuring initial asset acquisitions and exit strategies; developing remuneration strategies for fund principals; advising investors on all matters related to the acquisition of interests in private equity funds, including the negotiation of limited partnership agreements and side letters

Sovereign wealth funds — structuring cross-border investments in private equity funds and Canadian businesses; developing and structuring co-investment opportunities

Other tax exempts — advising tax exempt entities in relation to public and private mergers and acquisitions, investments in private equity and venture capital funds, infrastructure and renewable energy projects as well as providing guidance on other matters relating to their tax exempt status

Access sophisticated advice and comprehensive support from a team that understands tax inside and out.