ABSTRACT

A number of tax relief schemes allow Canadian taxpayers to reduce income tax bill in a legitimate way; these include certain savings accounts, deferrals, and deductions for small business. The Canadian General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) targets abusive tax avoidance schemes which involve transactions and provisions leading to tax advantage not intended by legislators. In this chapter Vokhid Urinov introduces the history and the development of the Canadian GAAR, and provides an in-depth discussion of its features.