Felesky Flynn LLP

Managing Partners: Anthony V. Strawson, Craig M. McDougall and K. John Fuller

Number of partners: 19

Number of lawyers: 38

Languages: English

FIRM OVERVIEW:

For over 40 years, Felesky Flynn LLP has been one of Canada’s leading firms dedicating itself to providing legal advice in the complex area of taxation law. Firm partners all have extensive backgrounds in taxation law and several members of the firm also are Chartered Professional Accountants. Across Canada and around the globe, the firm has helped clients with customised tax planning, tax audit defence, and tax litigation.

MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE:

Tax Planning

• Corporate Tax Planning
• International Tax
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Resource Tax
• Indirect Tax
• Personal Tax Planning
• Estate Planning

Tax Representation & Litigation

• Tax Litigation
• Audits & CRA Proposals
• Objections
• Voluntary Disclosures
• Criminal Tax Defense

Corporate Tax Planning:

Felesky Flynn LLP acts as tax counsel to local and international corporations, ranging from private, owner-managed corporations to the largest public corporations in Canada. The firm's engagements include tax strategies for mergers and acquisitions, dispositions and a variety of corporate workouts, asset transfers, amalgamations, wind-ups, reorganisations and matters relating to shareholders and creditors, as well as general ongoing business matters. The firm is particularly sought after to advise on entity transforming transactions and reorganisations.

The firm provides corporate tax planning across all major industries, including real estate development, mining, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, retail, communications and transportation. The firm has special expertise in resource taxation.

International Tax Planning:

Felesky Flynn LLP offers a wide range of services to Canadian clients investing outside of Canada and International clients investing into Canada. Its extensive Canadian tax experience is combined with a working knowledge of the tax provisions of many foreign jurisdictions (including the United States) as they relate to Canadian federal and provincial tax law.

The firm has extensive experience in formulating strategies which are tax-effective from a Canadian perspective in a number of areas. These areas include: doing business abroad, including through low tax jurisdictions; the remittance of foreign earnings from foreign subsidiaries of Canadian corporations; planning for interaction with Canada’s network of international tax treaties and international tax issues; transfer pricing; personal emigration from and immigration to Canada; and customs planning, including customs valuations, tariff classification and rules of origin considerations.

Mergers & Acquisitions:

Felesky Flynn LLP acts as tax counsel on transactions of all sizes including transactions involving Canada’s largest public corporations. The firm adds value to transactions through creative tax-effective structuring while maintaining focus on clients’ commercial objectives.

The firm regularly advises on transactions with complex international tax considerations. The team has been involved in transactions across all major industry sectors.

Resource Tax:

Felesky Flynn LLP has unparalleled experience in the area of tax law in the resource industry. The firm is actively involved in the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and its lawyers serve or have served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Petroleum Tax Society and on the faculty for the in-depth resource taxation course of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada.

Indirect Tax:

Felesky Flynn LLP acts as tax counsel to national and international corporations, individuals, not-for-profit organisations and other entities on commodity tax matters, particularly with respect to the goods and services tax and harmonised sales tax (“GST/HST”).

Members of the firm have extensive experience with the implementation of the GST/HST, its interpretation and application. The firm advises clients on the GST/HST implications of commercial transactions and deals with the Canada Revenue Agency and appears before the Courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, on GST/HST matters.

Members of the firm have served on various GST/HST committees, including the Canadian Bar Association Special Committee on GST and Legal Services, the Ad Hoc GST Committee of the Joint Committee of the Canadian Bar Association and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the Sales and Commodity Tax Committee of the Canadian Bar Association, and as the Chair of the national Commodity and Sales Taxation Section of the Canadian Bar Association.

Personal Tax Planning:

Felesky Flynn LLP advises individuals and their legal, accounting and financial advisors in connection with the formulation and implementation of personal tax planning strategies, including estate planning, reorganisations of closely-held corporations and planning for professional and business people. The firm is particularly experienced in tax-efficient structuring for the sale or purchase of a business.

Estate Planning:

Felesky Flynn LLP works with clients to design effective wills, trusts, and estate plans that reflect clients’ needs.

The firm's experienced advisors deal with will preparation, wealth transfer, estate planning, business succession, trusts, enduring powers of attorney and personal directives. It also work alongside clients to support the administration of estates and the transfer of assets to beneficiaries once an individual has died. This includes handling all matters relating to contested estates and the resolution of those disputes through negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation.

The team has extensive experience dealing with these matters with an emphasis on ensuring that beneficiaries receive the greatest benefit possible from the estate and the least amount of tax is paid within the rules and requirements of the Income Tax Act.

Tax Representation & Litigation:

Felesky Flynn LLP conducts an extensive representation and litigation practice relating to income tax and GST/HST assessments and reassessments. This area of practice includes the preparation of detailed submissions for presentation to the government department administering the taxation legislation (usually the Canada Revenue Agency or the Alberta Tax and Revenue Administration), the preparation and filing of pleadings, and representation of clients at trial or on appeal.

Members of the firm have appeared in: the Tax Court of Canada; the Federal Court; the Federal Court of Appeal; the Supreme Court of Canada; the Canadian International Trade Tribunal; the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta; and the Provincial Court of Alberta.