Any tax preparers who don’t believe that following the ITA is important in preparing financial matters and tax, well, that would leave me speechless as to why they would be doing so.
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I don’t believe that I could improve on what was intended to be my last post in this thread above.
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“This thread is a striking example why clients, particularly business or corporate should ensure that their accountant is indeed qualified.
The ethical thing to do here clearly is to refer the clients for a consult.”
The LAW also states that the speed on Highway 401 is maximum 100 KM/hr, yet there are tens of thousands of drivers on the highway everyday who drive at speeds between 100-115km/hr past police cruisers who are enforcers of the LAW. Clearly they are breaking the law, yet they do not get stopped or ticketed, why? Because the excess speed above the posted limit is not unreasonably fast and meets the overall objective of keeping the traffic moving.
"Lots of people are bank robbers. Many do not get caught and get sent to jail according to Law. Therefore we should all be bank robbers to maintain our lifestyle. "
As I’ve said before on this very forum: it is VERY difficult to provide anything other than general advice when not in possession of all the facts in a case. Tax is a fact-driven practice. It’s not about guesswork or even really “pushing the envelope” (though that is definitely often a “consideration”).
But for any given situation there is a fact pattern - and that basis needs a solid foundation before a decision can be properly made or addressed. While I personally think some posts are FAR too simplistically stated to provide anything resembling a material “opinion”…sometimes each of us needs a pointer to a thought process. How best to address this issue? Who is actually doing this part of the transaction? Is there a transaction secondary to the one that is asked about that may - or may not - cause issues? etc.
The original question posed here was (IMO) not fully enough detailed by the questioner, so did not provide enough material as to the full fact pattern. As such, the only answer possible could be one of general guidance…ITA or not…and not a specific plan of attack. Most people on here are accounting practitioners - whether articulate in tax or not - but also need to recognize that those answering queries may be nitpicky, because tax is nitpicky.
Clarity is ESSENTIAL in law…and tax, like it or not, is law, with a side dish of math and accounting. Why do Courts pick nits? Because the picking of a specific nit is what makes one transaction work and another one fail.
(I worked WAY too long in Appeals at CRA apparently, when I was younger.)