Latest news with #CRA
Qatar Tribune
3 hours ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
CRA opens access to over 4,860 km of government telecommunication duct infrastructure across Qatar
Tribune News Network Doha The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has opened access to more than 4,860 kilometres of government telecom duct infrastructure across Qatar. This milestone forms part of CRA's broader regulatory mandate to optimise the use of national telecom assets, enable licensed service providers to scale their networks more efficiently, and support the delivery of high-quality digital services to homes and businesses. The initiative reflects CRA's strategic objective to promote fair and open access to essential telecom infrastructure, reducing duplicate deployments, improving investment efficiency, and accelerating the rollout of next-generation technologies such as fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and 5G. It directly supports Qatar's ambitions for a robust digital economy and future-ready connectivity ecosystem. Ali Al Suwaidi, director of the Technical Affairs Department at CRA, said: 'Ensuring equitable access to national telecom infrastructure is a core part of our regulatory mandate. It enables licensed service providers to scale efficiently and deliver reliable services that meet users' expectations. This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing Qatar's digital ecosystem, supporting innovation, and contributing to economic diversification. We also commend the strong collaboration with Ashghal in realizing this strategic milestone.' Delivered in collaboration with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), the infrastructure spans 60 projects and covers over 40,000 residential, commercial, and government premises nationwide. The rollout was governed by a 2014 memorandum of understanding between CRA and Ashghal, which formalised planning, construction, and transfer protocols. To date, more than 15,500 premises have been connected via the CRA-managed government telecom duct infrastructure. Ooredoo has utilised 468 kilometres of ducts to serve more than 2,010 consumers premises, while Vodafone Qatar has deployed 251 kilometres to connect 1,150 of its consumers. These figures underscore growing industry reliance on a shared national duct network as a foundation for reliable and scalable connectivity. CRA oversees access to the network through its Duct Management System (DMS), a GIS-based digital platform that facilitates real-time capacity visibility, application processing, and coordination for network extensions. This ensures transparency, efficiency, and alignment with national infrastructure policy. This access model enhances the quality of digital services for users, enabling high-performance connectivity that supports remote work, e-learning, and digital government services. It also fosters competition by making it easier for consumers to switch between service providers and improves the overall digital user experience. CRA, as the designated regulatory authority, continues to oversee the construction handover and regulated availability of government telecom ducts in coordination with relevant entities. These efforts are aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030 and aim to ensure sustainable infrastructure development and a thriving digital economy.
Vancouver Sun
4 hours ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Shopify scores win over Canada Revenue Agency in merchant-data case
Shopify Inc. has come out on top of a battle with the Canada Revenue Agency. A federal court order issued Thursday shows Judge Guy Regimbald sided with the Canadian tech company, which was fighting the CRA's attempt to get more than six years of Shopify records. The records were being sought in order to verify that Canadian merchants using Shopify software were obeying the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act. The CRA wanted the names of individuals who own Shopify accounts, their birthdates, addresses, phone numbers and their bank transit, institution and account numbers. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. It also asked for their Shopify ID numbers, what type of store they ran, when their Shopify accounts were activated or closed and how many transactions and their value were made over the six-year period the CRA was interested in. Some of the information had been requested by the Australian Tax Office, which wanted to ensure Shopify merchants were complying with the country's laws. A separate case Judge Regimbald presided over saw the CRA ask for court permission to obtain and send the records to Australia. CRA spokesperson Sylvie Branch said the agency is aware of the court's decision and 'is currently analyzing the case details and associated information.' Shopify pointed The Canadian Press to a post on X from its CEO, Tobi Lutke, who shared the outcome of his company's court battle and called the CRA's behaviour 'blatant overreach.' CRA demanded 6 years of Canadian merchant data from us. This felt like blatant overreach We took them to court and last Friday Justice Régimbald agreed with us. The court dismissed the request and called it '… unintelligible, incoherent, or otherwise beyond its understanding' Shopify fought the CRA in both cases when they were filed in 2023, insisting the group of merchants the agency wanted information for was 'overly broad and inconsistently defined.' The company also claimed a multilateral tax treaty being used to seek the information for Australia 'is without domestic force' when information about unnamed people is being requested. Regimbald ultimately decided not to order Shopify to turn over the records to the CRA because he found the tax agency had not outlined an identifiable group of individuals whose data it wanted. He said the court would not entertain a request to hand over information on unnamed parties 'that is unintelligible, incoherent, or otherwise beyond its understanding.' As part of his order, Regimbald requested the CRA pay legal costs of $45,000 in each case, bringing the government's bill to $90,000. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
National Post
4 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
Shopify scores win over Canada Revenue Agency in merchant-data case
Shopify Inc. has come out on top of a battle with the Canada Revenue Agency. Article content A federal court order issued Thursday shows Judge Guy Regimbald sided with the Canadian tech company, which was fighting the CRA's attempt to get more than six years of Shopify records. Article content The records were being sought in order to verify that Canadian merchants using Shopify software were obeying the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act. Article content The CRA wanted the names of individuals who own Shopify accounts, their birthdates, addresses, phone numbers and their bank transit, institution and account numbers. Article content It also asked for their Shopify ID numbers, what type of store they ran, when their Shopify accounts were activated or closed and how many transactions and their value were made over the six-year period the CRA was interested in. Article content Some of the information had been requested by the Australian Tax Office, which wanted to ensure Shopify merchants were complying with the country's laws. A separate case Judge Regimbald presided over saw the CRA ask for court permission to obtain and send the records to Australia. Article content CRA spokesperson Sylvie Branch said the agency is aware of the court's decision and 'is currently analyzing the case details and associated information.' Article content Shopify pointed The Canadian Press to a post on X from its CEO, Tobi Lutke, who shared the outcome of his company's court battle and called the CRA's behaviour 'blatant overreach.' Article content Article content CRA demanded 6 years of Canadian merchant data from us. This felt like blatant overreach We took them to court and last Friday Justice Régimbald agreed with us. The court dismissed the request and called it '… unintelligible, incoherent, or otherwise beyond its understanding' — tobi lutke (@tobi) June 1, 2025 Article content Shopify fought the CRA in both cases when they were filed in 2023, insisting the group of merchants the agency wanted information for was 'overly broad and inconsistently defined.' Article content Article content The company also claimed a multilateral tax treaty being used to seek the information for Australia 'is without domestic force' when information about unnamed people is being requested. Article content Regimbald ultimately decided not to order Shopify to turn over the records to the CRA because he found the tax agency had not outlined an identifiable group of individuals whose data it wanted. Article content He said the court would not entertain a request to hand over information on unnamed parties 'that is unintelligible, incoherent, or otherwise beyond its understanding.' Article content
Hamilton Spectator
6 hours ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Shopify wins court battle against Canada Revenue Agency in merchant-data case
Shopify Inc. has come out on top of a battle with the Canada Revenue Agency. A federal court order issued Thursday shows Judge Guy Régimbald sided with the Canadian tech company, which was fighting the CRA's attempt to get more than six years of Shopify records. The records were being sought in order to verify that Canadian merchants using Shopify software were obeying the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act. The CRA wanted the names of individuals who own Shopify accounts, their birthdates, addresses, phone numbers and their bank transit, institution and account numbers. It also asked for their Shopify ID numbers, what type of store they ran, when their Shopify accounts were activated or closed and how many transactions and their value were made over the six-year period the CRA was interested in. Some of the information had been requested by the Australian Tax Office, which wanted to ensure Shopify merchants were complying with the country's laws. A separate case Judge Régimbald presided over saw the CRA ask for court permission to obtain and send the records to Australia. The CRA did not immediately responded to a request for comment. Shopify pointed The Canadian Press to a post on X from its CEO Tobi Lütke who shared the outcome of his company's court battle and called the CRA's behaviour 'blatant overreach.' Shopify fought the CRA in both cases when they were filed in 2023, insisting the group of merchants the agency wanted information for was 'overly broad and inconsistently defined.' The company also claimed a multilateral tax treaty being used to seek the information for Australia 'is without domestic force' when information about unnamed people is being requested. Régimbald ultimately decided not to order Shopify to turn over the records to the CRA because he found the tax agency had not outlined an identifiable group of individuals whose data it wanted. He said the court would not entertain a request to hand over information on unnamed parties 'that is unintelligible, incoherent, or otherwise beyond its understanding.' As part of his order, Régimbald requested the CRA pay legal costs of $45,000 in each case, bringing the government's bill to $90,000. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Shopify wins court battle against Canada Revenue Agency in merchant-data case
Shopify Inc. has come out on top of a battle with the Canada Revenue Agency. A federal court order issued Thursday shows Judge Guy Régimbald sided with the Canadian tech company, which was fighting the CRA's attempt to get more than six years of Shopify records. The records were being sought in order to verify that Canadian merchants using Shopify software were obeying the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act. The CRA wanted the names of individuals who own Shopify accounts, their birthdates, addresses, phone numbers and their bank transit, institution and account numbers. It also asked for their Shopify ID numbers, what type of store they ran, when their Shopify accounts were activated or closed and how many transactions and their value were made over the six-year period the CRA was interested in. Some of the information had been requested by the Australian Tax Office, which wanted to ensure Shopify merchants were complying with the country's laws. A separate case Judge Régimbald presided over saw the CRA ask for court permission to obtain and send the records to Australia. CRA spokesperson Sylvie Branch said the agency is aware of the courts decision and "is currently analyzing the case details and associated information." Shopify pointed The Canadian Press to a post on X from its CEO Tobi Lütke who shared the outcome of his company's court battle and called the CRA's behaviour "blatant overreach." Shopify fought the CRA in both cases when they were filed in 2023, insisting the group of merchants the agency wanted information for was "overly broad and inconsistently defined." The company also claimed a multilateral tax treaty being used to seek the information for Australia "is without domestic force" when information about unnamed people is being requested. Régimbald ultimately decided not to order Shopify to turn over the records to the CRA because he found the tax agency had not outlined an identifiable group of individuals whose data it wanted. He said the court would not entertain a request to hand over information on unnamed parties "that is unintelligible, incoherent, or otherwise beyond its understanding." As part of his order, Régimbald requested the CRA pay legal costs of $45,000 in each case, bringing the government's bill to $90,000. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP) Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
