March 16, 2023

Several lawyers have contacted LIF advising that the Property Taxation Branch of the Ministry of Finance is considering applying the anti-avoidance rule in section 2.001 of the Property Transfer Tax Act to certain transactions. These transactions involve the re-registration of legal title to real estate into trust while claiming an exemption from property transfer tax. The transactions under review often involve a transfer of legal title to a related person, and then back to the original transferor in trust. Learn more here.

If you advised your client or assisted them to implement transactions that are the same as or similar to the above, and your client informs you that they received such a letter from the Ministry of Finance, consider reporting it to LIF.