Tax Issues for Commercial Practitioners 2025

Course Chair
Ian Humphries — Thorsteinssons LLP, Vancouver

About the Course Chair
Ian Humphries is a partner at Thorsteinssons LLP, Canada's largest law firm practicing exclusively in taxation.

Ian's practice focuses primarily on advising private Canadian corporations and their shareholders on income tax matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, succession planning, estate planning, and tax planning with trusts. Additionally, Ian represents taxpayers in certain tax controversy matters, primarily at the audit and administrative appeals level.

Ian is a former co-author of the taxation chapter of the CLEBC Annual Review of Law and Practice and has authored a number of papers on various income tax matters.

Faculty
Asif N. Abdulla — Thorsteinssons LLP, Vancouver
Jennifer Flood — Thorsteinssons LLP, Vancouver 
Parveen B. Karsan — Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP, Vancouver 
Kate S. Marples — Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, Vancouver
Priscila Padilla — KPMG Law LLP, Vancouver
Josh Schmidt — Schmidt & Gilmour Tax Law LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

• changes to Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption
• Canadian Entrepreneurs' Incentive 
• income splitting and TOSI
• intergenerational transfers of business

• definitions and allocations
• representations and warranties
• covenants
• indemnities
• post-closing matters
• select considerations: restrictive covenants, earnouts 

• deemed disposition on death
• common techniques
• life interest trusts

• audits
• reassessments and objections
• limitations periods

• difference between legitimate tax planning and criminal tax evasion
• potential risks and consequences for advisors and clients
• key professional ethics rules for advisors