Fighting Aggressive Tax Planning

Introduction

On October 17, 2009, the Government of Québec announced that it intends to tackle the issue of aggressive tax planning through the implementation of measures targeting its disclosure and through clarifications to the notion of bona fide purpose in the context of the application of the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR). While the amendments in the context of the GAAR effectively harmonize Québec's legislation with that of other provinces, the mandatory and preventive disclosure mechanisms aimed at aggressive tax planning constitute a novel approach with respect to tax law conformity. The question presents itself: Do we continue to find ourselves in a system of auto-assessment?