Tax court system criticized

(September 28 – 09:15 ET) – The Canadian tax court system is a “funnel with an extremely large mouth and an extremely small spout,” says tax lawyer Warren Mitchell.

In a style reminiscent of criminal defence lawyer Eddie Greenspan, Mitchell criticized the operation of Canada’s tax courts, particularly the Federal Court of Appeal, for its “activist,” Charter-like approach to applying tax law.

Mitchell, who practices with Vancouver tax law firm Thorsteinssons, made his comments yesterday to 800 tax lawyers and accountants gathered in Montreal for the 51st Annual Conference of the Canadian Tax Foundation.

Last year, he said, 3,500 tax cases were heard by the Tax Court of Canada. Only 74 were heard by the Federal Court of Appeal, and only five made it to the Supreme Court.

Mitchell is also critical of the statutory rule that insists that Federal and Supreme Court judges must live within 40 km of downtown Ottawa, where the courts are located. He says that demand “limits the gene pool” of potential judicial candidates, since most lawyers don’t consider taking a judicial appointment until they turn 50, and don’t want to relocate their families to Canada’s capital.