
Alex is a tax lawyer with nearly a decade of Bay St. experience, having worked on some of Canada’s most complicated tax cases. Alex’s experience includes advising clients on corporate restructurings, estate freezes, rollovers, income splitting, emigration/immigration planning, employee/contractor characterization, and voluntary disclosure submissions.
Alex advises clients of all sizes on a variety of tax matters. Alex has experience in advising private business owners, large multi-national corporations, and individuals. Alex grew up in Richmond Hill, Ontario and now splits his time between the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa. During his spare time, Alex enjoys spending time with his wife and 4-year-old son, reading a good book, and investing in private companies. Alex is a big fan of the following life principles: if you enjoy what you do and the people you work with, and if you marry the right person, your life becomes quite easy in many ways.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
-
- 2023 Best Lawyers: Ones To Watch in Canada recognition for Tax Law.
- 2022 Best Lawyers: Ones To Watch in Canada recognition for Tax Law.
EDUCATION
-
- Osgoode Hall Law School, JD
- Schulich School of Business, MBA
- York University, BCom
- Successfully completed CPA Canada’s In-Depth Tax Course and Canadian Bar Association’s Tax Law for Lawyers course
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
-
- Worked at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
- Worked at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
- Worked at the Bank of Nova Scotia
-
- Former Chair, Canadian Tax Foundation Young Practitioners (Toronto)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
-
- Canadian Tax Foundation
- Ontario Bar Association
- Law Society of Ontario
EXPERIENCE
-
- Advised a C$10+ billion financial institution on the structuring of financial products, including the offering of new plans and investment vehicles.
- Advised a C$10+ billion corporation on its sale to a private equity firm.
- Advised a C$10+ billion financial institution on an appeal of a tax assessment, resulting in C$1+ million dollars of savings.
- Advised a C$1+ billion international company on the implementation of country-by-country reporting rules adopted into Canadian tax legislation.
- Advised a C$1+ billion mutual fund manager on whether a certain mutual fund trust structure would be permissible.
- Advised a C$100+ million energy generation and distribution business on internal restructuring.
- Advised on tax-efficient structuring of cross-border settlements.
- Advised numerous individuals, professional corporations, trusts and private companies on tax planning and dispute matters.
PUBLICATIONS / EVENTS / MEDIA
-
- Speaker, “Tax Update,” The Estate Planning Council of Toronto, May 2022.
- Speaker, “Update on Income Splitting: What’s Allowed and What’s Not Allowed”, Law Society of Ontario, September 2021.
- Co-Author (with P. Marley), “2021 Canadian Federal Budget: Government Provides First Pandemic Era Budgetary Update”, Tax Management International Journal, May 7, 2021.
- Speaker, “Taxation of Real Estate”, CPAC, February 2019.
- Speaker, “Income Splitting Post-Budget 2018”, Law Society of Ontario, September 2018.
- Co-Author, “Confidentiality at Risk: Accessing Financial Filings on EDGAR”, Canadian Tax Focus, Volume 8, Number 3, August 2018.
- Moderator, “US Tax Changes”, Toronto Young Practitioner Tax Conference, June 2018.
- Co-Author, “Overview of the Canadian Federal Budget 2018”, Journal of International Taxation, April 2018.
- Author, “Income Splitting After the New Private Corporation Proposals: Salaries Paid to Family Members”, Canadian Tax Focus, Volume 8, Number 1, February 2018.
- Moderator, “Taxation of Cryptocurrencies”, CTF YP, December 2017.
- Guest Lecturer, “Taxation of Damages in Canada”, Osgoode Hall Law School, November 2017.
- Co-Author, “Canada’s CbC rules: adoption of the OECD rules with a twist”, Taxand, September 2017.
- Speaker, “Rectification post Fairmont and Jean Coutu: A Practical Approach”, CTF YP, February 2017.
- Co-Author, “The End of Advisory Common Interest Privilege”, Canadian Tax Focus, Volume 7, Number 1, January 2017.
- Speaker, “International Tax Updates: A Global Perspective”, CTF YP, December 2016.
- Quoted, “CRA launches new strategy to crack down on tax havens”, Globe & Mail, November 2016.
- Co-Author, “No Need for Section 116 Clearance Certificate for Capital Distributions from an Estate to a U.S. Beneficiary”, Ontario Bar Association, October 2016.
- Quoted, “Canadians in Panama Papers shouldn’t expect a tax deal, CRA says”, CBC News, September 2016.
- Quoted, “CRA plans ‘lifestyle audits’ in Vancouver as part of real estate probe”, Globe & Mail, July 2016.
- Co-Author, “Interest Deductibility: FCA Sidesteps Novel TCC Reasoning in TDL”, Canadian Tax Focus, Volume 6, Number 2, May 2016.
- Author, “Interest Deductibility Denied on Intra-Group Loan for Novel Reasons”, Canadian Tax Focus, Volume 5, Number 2, May 2015.
- Author, “CRA Reassessments: The Trap in Eliminating the Extra Tax by a Loss Carryback”, Canadian Tax Focus, Volume 4, Number 4, November, 2014.