Representing yourself at the Tax Court.

AuthorLe Blanc, Owen

The Tax Court of Canada has gone to some lengths to make information available for self-represented taxpayers who want to appeal a tax decision. The website of the Court prominently displays a tab for Self-represented litigants. Under the tab there is a wealth of information about forms, procedures and the Court itself.

This information can be found at: http://cas-cdc-www02.cas-satj.gc.ca/portal/page/portal/tcc-cci_Eng/Litigants

For many Canadians, few things are more destructive emotionally or financially than a legal dispute. The legal system exists to resolve the inevitable conflicts of humanity. We have left behind the days of Game of Thrones style trial by combat for a significantly more complicated procedure. The challenge of the legal system is not just to resolve disputes, but to decide a fair resolution between two sides, both of which have merit. Even for those with legal training, however, the legal system can be a dizzying array of statutes, regulations, and confusing judgements. The Canadian Income Tax Act, for example, is over 2600 pages of complex small print legalese. For the average person, just getting started with this document can be a daunting task of figuring out exactly where in that 2600 pages the solution to one's legal problem can be found. Clients pay lawyers to wrestle with these unwieldy documents so that they can go about dealing with other aspects of their lives. It stands to reason that if one side of a dispute has legal representation and the other does not, then there may be an inherent unfairness in the judicial proceedings.

According to Pro-Bono Students Canada...

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