McCarthy Tétrault has appointed Toronto partner Anu Koshal as its national tax disputes and tax litigation group lead.
Koshal has advised on complex and precedent-setting tax disputes. He has helped major corporations and financial institutions.
He has acted for TD Bank in an appeal involving the scope of the Income Tax Act’s deemed trust provisions. He has represented CIBC in an appeal involving tax credits in respect of foreign interchange services.
Koshal has acted for Shopify Inc. in an appeal with the national revenue minister involving the disclosure of information belonging to unnamed third parties. He has represented Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in a $289 million bad debt deduction claim.
He has acted for Glencore in an appeal determining whether or not GST/HST can be set-off as between commercial parties. He has represented Rogers in a trial involving the availability of tax credits relating to its goodwill credits.
The Lexpert-ranked lawyer has appeared before provincial trial and appellate courts, the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. Previously, he was counsel for the victorious applicant in Canada Without Poverty v. Attorney General of Canada, 2018 ONSC 4147 – the case resulted in an Income Tax Act provision being deemed unconstitutional.
Koshal acted for a major Canadian charity in a Charter case claiming that minority charities were discriminated against and treated unequally during audits. Subsequently, a National Security and Intelligence Review Agency report determined that a CRA division had improperly focused on auditing Muslim charities.
Koshal has tackled complex audits for multinational companies with operations in Canada. He has also handled matters involving the general anti-avoidance rule, transfer pricing, financial services matters, the rules governing resource property, and indirect tax.
“Businesses turn to our tax disputes team for clear, practical advice on matters that often have significant implications on their operations. Anu’s appointment ensures continuity and consistency in how we support them across jurisdictions,” said Brett Anderson, co-head of McCarthy Tétrault’s national tax group and Alberta regional managing partner, in a statement.