Advotax Law
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.3 lawyers · City of Toronto
One of 2,276 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 66 handling Tax Law.
About Advotax Law
Advotax Law is a Toronto tax law firm for individuals and businesses caught up in a dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency or looking for advice on how to plan their affairs. The team handles questions on income tax and GST/HST, along with estate and international tax planning, and it represents clients from the CRA audit and appeals stages right through to the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. Its clients work in fields such as real estate, construction, manufacturing and cryptocurrency, and they're spread across the country, from Vancouver to Halifax.
Anna Malazhavaya founded the firm after a tax practice on Bay Street. A 2007 graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, Malazhavaya was called to the Ontario bar in 2008. Malazhavaya mostly acts for small and mid-sized businesses, along with individuals and estates, with a particular focus on the income tax and HST issues that come up in real estate and construction.
Senior associate Alexandra Ilchuk concentrates on tax controversy and litigation, acting for owner-managed businesses, individuals and corporations in CRA audits and appeals and before the Tax Court of Canada. Ilchuk previously gave international tax advice to multinationals and high-net-worth individuals at a global accounting firm in Russia. Dr. Vokhid Urinov, an associate professor of tax law at the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law with a PhD in tax law from McGill University, works with the firm as special counsel, practising in association with it as an independent contractor. Before that, Urinov advised on cross-border tax for real estate projects with PwC Germany's Tax & Legal group in Frankfurt.
The team also includes a senior tax law clerk who's a licensed paralegal in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario. Clients can be served in English, Russian, French or Uzbek. The office is at Suite 205N, 300 North Queen Street, in the west part of Toronto, and consultations can be booked directly online.
Practice areas
CRA audits
Advotax Law represents individuals and businesses through each stage of a CRA audit, whether it's about income tax, GST/HST or payroll. The team answers the auditor's questions, gets the supporting records in order and deals with the CRA directly for the client.
Objections, appeals and the Tax Court
When a reassessment arrives, the firm prepares and files notices of objection, negotiates with CRA appeals officers and represents clients in settlement talks, taking the matter to the Tax Court of Canada when that's needed. It also handles disputes over CRA collections, penalties and interest, as well as taxpayer relief applications.
Real estate and construction tax
Homeowners, real estate investors, builders and landlords facing a CRA audit or reassessment are a regular part of the practice. The firm keeps a close eye on market developments and relies on construction cost professionals in both the Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver areas.
GST/HST advice and disputes
Advotax Law has advised on GST/HST matters for more than a decade, and it helps home buyers, businesses and public service bodies contest GST/HST assessments and reassessments.
Directors' liability and worker classification
Corporate directors can be held personally liable for payroll withholdings and GST/HST their corporation failed to remit, and Advotax Law disputes those assessments for directors. The firm also handles employee versus contractor classification, where a CRA ruling can treat a contractor relationship as employment.
Cryptocurrency
For crypto holders, the team sorts transactions into capital gains or business income, prepares voluntary disclosures to fix past reporting problems, and represents clients through CRA crypto audits, including the CRA's questionnaires and negotiations with auditors.
Estate freezes and post-mortem planning
Advotax Law sets up estate freezes, bringing in family trusts to manage future ownership and working with valuation professionals so the structure is ready for a CRA audit. After a death, its lawyers work with executors and trustees to cut down double tax, with tools such as pipeline transactions, loss carryback elections and spousal rollovers.
Business, cross-border and departure planning
Business owners get help arranging their affairs so the company can later be sold, or handed to children or partners, in a tax-efficient way, and business partners get advice on the tax side of a shareholders' agreement. The firm also advises non-residents investing in Canadian businesses or real estate, and people leaving Canada on departure tax, residency status and treaty relief.
How Advotax Law works
Advotax Law's business model is built to give clients the quality of a Bay Street firm at Main Street prices. The firm's mission is protecting what clients keep after tax, through tax planning on one side and by resolving tax disputes on the other.
Milestones & recognition
- Anna Malazhavaya founded Canadian Tax Nerds, a casual study and discussion group whose membership tops 1,800 tax professionals in Canada.
- Malazhavaya regularly writes and presents for legal and tax publishers including LexisNexis, Federated Press, the Ontario Bar Association and the Canadian Tax Foundation.
- On April 27, 2021, Malazhavaya presented to the Ontario Bar Association's Taxation Section on the dispute resolution and CRA audit measures in that year's federal budget, with help from Alexandra Ilchuk, then an articling student.
- On April 8, 2020, CBC News interviewed Malazhavaya for a story on small businesses left out of the COVID-19 emergency loan program.
- The Toronto Star quoted Malazhavaya in a story on quick home flipping drawing the CRA's attention.
- Dr. Vokhid Urinov wrote Taxation of Foreign-Source Income of Resident Individuals, published in the IBFD Doctoral Series in 2019, and contributed a chapter to Materials on Canadian Income Tax, a textbook used in law schools across Canada.
In the community
- Ahead of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, Advotax Law published fact-checking roundups of political rumours about taxing the gain on a principal residence.
- Advotax Law produced A House Plus HST, a video series for its clients and followers, starting with an episode for people buying residential houses and condos.
Affiliations & connections
- Canadian Tax Foundation: Alexandra Ilchuk of Advotax Law is an active member of the Canadian Tax Foundation.
- Ontario Bar Association: Alexandra Ilchuk is a member of the Ontario Bar Association, whose Taxation Section heard a 2021 presentation by Anna Malazhavaya.
- The Advocates' Society: Alexandra Ilchuk of Advotax Law is a member of The Advocates' Society.
- University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law: Dr. Vokhid Urinov, special counsel to Advotax Law, is an associate professor of tax law at the faculty.
Lawyers 3
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Called to the bar
- 2008 · median 18 years in practice 1 of 3 lawyers
- Law schools
- Tashkent State University of Law 1 of 3 lawyers
- Languages on the roster
- English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Uzbek
Who handles what
Frequently asked questions
- Can Advotax Law challenge the CRA's denial of my Voluntary Disclosures Program application?
- Advotax Law takes on clients whose VDP application was denied, and it challenges the CRA's decision through a judicial review application in the Federal Court. For people correcting earlier tax mistakes, the firm works alongside their accountants, and its role is keeping the client protected through the whole disclosure.
- Can I work with Advotax Law in Russian, French or Uzbek?
- Advotax Law has lawyers who work in all three. Anna Malazhavaya provides legal services in English and Russian, Alexandra Ilchuk is fluent in English, French and Russian, and Dr. Vokhid Urinov serves clients in English and Uzbek. Malazhavaya is also active in the Russian-speaking legal community of the Greater Toronto Area.
- Does Advotax Law have a calculator for HST and income tax on an Ontario pre-construction assignment?
- Advotax Law has a Tax Exposure Calculator for people buying and selling pre-construction property as a business in Ontario, giving a general sense of the combined HST and income tax on an assignment. It's built for sales that produce business income, so it won't work for an assignment taxed as a capital gain.
- Can Advotax Law help me dispute a GST/HST New Housing Rebate or Landlord Rebate?
- Advotax Law helps clients dispute HST rebates and credits, including the GST/HST New Housing Rebate, the New Residential Rental Property Rebate (the Landlord Rebate) and the rebates and credits open to builders of real property.
- The CRA used a net worth assessment to estimate my income. How does Advotax Law push back?
- When a net worth assessment gets the numbers wrong, Advotax Law helps individuals and businesses challenge it. The work includes testing the CRA's calculations and the assumptions behind them, and showing legitimate non-taxable sources such as gifts, loans and inheritances.
- Has Advotax Law published a test for working out whether I have a bare trust?
- Advotax Law created a basic guide and a simplified Four Steps Bare Trust Identification Test, written for taxpayers and their advisors who never studied trust law. Its lawyers also work out whether reporting is required, prepare the filings and coordinate with accountants and advisors on compliance with CRA rules.
Where to find them
300 North Queen Street, Suite 205N, Toronto, Ontario, M9C 5K4 · 437-916-9000
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