Latest news with #GuyRegimbald
Vancouver Sun
2 days 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 .
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Shopify scores win over Canada Revenue Agency in merchant-data case
Article content 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.
Toronto Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Shopify wins case against Canada Revenue Agency over merchant data
Published Jun 02, 2025 • 1 minute read A logo outside Shopify headquarters in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. Photo by David Kawai / Bloomberg Shopify Inc. has come out on top of a battle with the Canada Revenue Agency. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A federal court order 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. Some of the information had also been requested by the Australian Tax Office, which wanted to ensure Shopify merchants were complying with the country's laws. Judge Regimbald decided not to order Shopify 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. Neither Shopify nor the CRA immediately responded to a request for comment. News Sunshine Girls Olympics Columnists Columnists
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Federal court rejects CRA's request for information on Canadian Shopify merchants
The federal court has dismissed the Canada Revenue Agency's request for information about e-commerce company Shopify Inc.'s Canadian merchants, blocking the tax agency's efforts to crack down on undeclared income earned online. The CRA's request would have allowed the tax agency to scrutinize merchants' earnings, and spot those who did not remit the correct amount of goods and service tax. The decision, rendered last Thursday, follows a two-year court battle and marks a departure from legal precedents where the tax agency sought to obtain third-party information through e-commerce providers. The Canadian Income Tax Act requires the CRA to obtain a court order when asking a company to provide information about unnamed individuals, a legal tool known as the 'unnamed persons requirement,' or UPR. While the CRA argued that it had identified an 'ascertainable' group of merchants, a precondition for obtaining the information, the federal court ruled that it had not successfully done so, therefore failing to meet the legal threshold. 'The Minister's inconsistent use and scoping of the terms employed in their request renders their proposed UPR ambiguous and unworkable,' said federal justice Guy Régimbald in a ruling dated May 29. 'The Court will not authorize a UPR that is unintelligible, incoherent, or otherwise beyond its understanding,' he added. In 2023, CRA requested permission from a judge to require Shopify SHOP-T to hand information for each Shopify merchant operating in Canada over the six previous years from the date of court authorization of its request, within 60 days. The objective was to verify that those merchants were obeying income tax laws. Those data points included names, social insurance numbers, banking information, and total transaction value for each of those years. According to the affidavit of a CRA employee submitted as part of legal filings, the agency had 'concerns that Shopify's merchants may be participating in the underground economy and are not compliant with their Canadian tax obligations.' The federal court also dismissed an application from the CRA to obtain and share Shopify merchant information with the Australian Tax Office, following a request by that country's government. It ordered that $45,000 of Shopify's costs be paid by the Government on each application. If the federal court had ruled in CRA's favour, Shopify could have been required to hand over the data or risk face legal sanctions. While Shopify, which provides e-commerce website tools, offers compliance features to help merchants calculate what they owe, the company itself is not responsible itself for remitting money to the government.
