The Minister of Finance (Canada), the Honourable Bill Morneau, presented the Government of Canada’s 2017 Federal Budget (“Budget 2017“) on March 22, 2017. Budget 2017 contains significant proposals to amend the Income Tax Act (Canada) and the Excise Tax Act (Canada) while also providing updates on previously announced tax measures and policies.

Significant Budget 2017 proposals and updates include:

• Investing an additional $523.9 million over five years to prevent tax evasion and improve tax compliance.
• Extending the mutual fund merger rules to “switch” funds and segregated funds.
• Extending base erosion rules to Canadian life insurers with foreign branches.
• Two measures that clarify the timing of recognition of gains and losses on derivatives held on income account.
• Updates on Canada’s participation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

Our full analysis of selected proposals and tax measures can be found on Fasken.com.