Tax
The tax portion of this course provides an explanation of the Canadian tax system, its objectives, and its structure. It outlines the general scheme of the tax system and the reasons for its existence. You will learn who must pay income tax in Canada and about the concept of income for purposes of the Income Tax Act (ITA).
You will learn about the rules for computing business income for income tax purposes and what is considered business income for income tax purposes as well as how to compute business income. The course covers the rules relating to the acquisition and disposition of capital property on which capital cost allowance may be claimed and sources of income such as interest, dividends, rental income, pension benefits, and many others. You will also learn more about the government’s fiscal policy concerning saving for retirement.
The course also provides a general discussion of the implications of common international transactions where you will study, in a general way, the implications for Canadian residents who leave Canada and for non-residents who earn income in Canada.
Law
The Law portion of this course is meant to familiarize you with the tools and concepts lawyers use when they place things in a legal perspective. It will provide you with a broad overview of commercial law. It looks at the legal rules that govern relationships between legal "persons" (corporations and individuals) in the commercial setting. Commercial law is only one area of private law.
The central part of this course deals with contract law and special forms of contracts because contract law is the basis of commercial law. However, in order to allow you to situate commercial law in its broader context, the course begins with an introduction to Canada’s legal system in which you will look at such topics as the power of the courts to make and interpret legal rules, the nature of the Canadian Constitution, the sources of law, and the court system.