Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
This course offers practitioners, business owners, and other tax professionals relevant technical and practical knowledge of important income tax considerations for when it is time to buy, sell, or undertake an intergenerational transfer of a private Canadian business.
Merger and acquisition activity in Canada continues to thrive, notwithstanding profound environmental changes. The process of buying or selling a business in Canada, or transitioning it to one’s children, employees or other successors, can constitute one of the most exciting yet stressful times in the lives of entrepreneurs, their key executives, members of their families, and their professional advisors. The purpose of this course is to alleviate some of the stress by providing an understanding and update of Canadian income tax issues for purchasers and vendors of businesses in Canada and their professional tax advisors.
The focus of this course will be on transactions between Canadian private business owners and/or their privately-held corporations as well as issues arising from their purchasing from or selling to family members, public corporations, and non-residents. Following introductory comments on commercial and tax due diligence issues, the course offers a discussion of technical and practical content on relevant rules, anti-avoidance measures, planning opportunities, and updates from the government and the courts will be offered in the context of commonly used transaction structures and business vehicles. In particular, the course will explore separate and comparative material on “share transactions” vs. “asset transactions,” along with a presentation of issues common to both. Several hypothetical case studies will be reviewed to illustrate major concepts.
Topics Include:
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Commercial Factors |
|
| Share Transactions |
|
| Asset Transactions |
|
| Intra-Family and Intergenerational Transfers |
|
| Other Issues |
|
NOTE: This course description has been revised and reflects updates for 2025. If you have any questions, please contact pdevents@cpaontario.ca.
Schedule
- December 11, 2025, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- December 12, 2025, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Key Takeaways
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify and act on opportunities to be of service to their clients / employers as potential private purchasers and vendors of businesses in Canada, in a manner that is consistent with codes of ethical business culture and professional independence/conflict of interest.
- Comprehend, explain, and act on key income tax concepts that are most relevant to purchasers and vendors of businesses in Canada prior to a proposed transaction, at the time of the transaction, and at times subsequent.
- Participate meaningfully in negotiations on behalf of buyers or sellers in negotiating tax-consideration-driven transaction structuring and assessing the impact on income taxes to both sides.
- Identify and assist with related tax compliance obligations
- Identify, assess, and address both pitfalls and situations that offer opportunities for tax savings.
- Apply the most important recent legislative and interpretive changes to the rules in delivering planning and other advice and related compliance services.
Who Will Benefit
Practitioners, industry members, and owners/key executives in privately owned Canadian businesses, who are tax professionals wanting technical and practical knowledge and updates in taxation issues relevant to the purchase and sale of a business in Canada, and opportunities to discuss this with an experienced practitioner.
Prerequisite(s)
- Possess a strong foundational working knowledge of the Canadian Income Tax Act, including related technical research skills; and
- Have several years of experience in providing Canadian income tax compliance and advisory services.
- Participants should have access to a copy of the Canadian Income Tax Act and related technical research resources.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in the course are non-authoritative and have not been formally endorsed by CPA Ontario and do not reflect the views of CPA Ontario. The information included in the course if for general information purposes only.
CPA Ontario, the presenters and the authors do not accept any responsibility or liability that might occur directly or indirectly as a consequence of the use or application of or reliance on this material.
How to Access the Course
This course is a live webinar. You must attend the live course to receive verifiable CPD hours. We recommend you join five minutes prior to the scheduled starting time. To get the full experience of this interactive course, use a computer that has video and microphone capabilities.
Electronic material can be accessed one week prior to the course and should be downloaded in advance.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Speaker(s)
Tom Pister, B. Comm., CPA, CA, LL.B. is a CPA and tax lawyer specializing in all facets of income taxation and estate planning in the private corporation and owner/manager contexts with particular expertise in the area of corporate reorganizations. He also represents clients on a variety of tax issues involving the CRA (including voluntary disclosures, tax audits, objections etc.). He has taught tax courses through CPA Ontario and the Ontario Bar Admission Course.