Josh Kumar

Partner* Admitted to the Ontario Bar: 2014
  • Toronto

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*Practising as a professional corporation
  • Bio
  • Awards & Recognition
  • Professional Involvement
  • Representative Matters
  • Selected Speaking Engagements
  • Selected Publications
  • Insights
  • Video Content
  • Education

Josh enjoys navigating complex and continually changing tax laws to effectively resolve income tax and GST/HST disputes. He takes pride in providing practical tax advice, based on an in-depth understanding of relevant legislation and court decisions.

Josh is a member of the firm’s Tax Group. His practice focuses on litigation and dispute resolution with the Canada Revenue Agency and Department of Justice, and also includes tax planning for private companies and individuals. He has extensive experience representing taxpayers in the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

In addition to being called to the bar of Ontario, Josh holds a Chartered Professional Accountant designation and completed the CPA In-Depth Tax Course. This cross-training helps him to identify areas of risk, uncertainty and settlement opportunities in complicated tax disputes.

Prior to joining Aird & Berlis, Josh practised at a boutique tax firm. He also practised in the tax group of an international law firm and clerked at the Tax Court of Canada. After clerking, Josh worked as Crown Counsel for the Department of Justice (Tax Law Services) in Ottawa, where he represented the CRA in numerous tax disputes.

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Awards & Recognition

  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada in the field of Tax Law
  • Recognized in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a Leading Lawyer to Watch in the area of Commodity Tax/Customs
  • Recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada for his expertise in Tax Law
  • Law Society of Upper Canada Prize for Academic Achievement
  • Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP Award in Corporate/Commercial Law

Professional Involvement

Professional Activities

  • Steering Committee Member, Canadian Tax Foundation/Fondation canadienne de fiscalite

Memberships

  • Law Society of Ontario
  • CPA Ontario
  • Canadian Tax Foundation

Community Involvement

  • Pro Bono Ontario

Representative Matters

Represented Milgram Foundation before the Federal Court in Milgram Foundation v. Canada (Attorney General), 2024 FC 1405.

Represented Ms. Vasilkioti before the Tax Court of Canada in Vasilkioti v. The King, 2024 TCC 101.

Represented 0808414 B.C. Ltd. before the Tax Court of Canada in 0808414 B.C. Ltd. v. The King, 2024 TCC 99.

Represented L.F. Management and Investment S.A.R.L. before the Tax Court of Canada (published case name as Husky Energy v. the King, 2023 TCC 167).

Represented Amex Bank of Canada before the Tax Court of Canada in Amex Bank of Canada v. The King, 2023 TCC 93.

Represented Dr. Kevin Davis on a successful Supreme Court of Canada Leave Application, as well as in the Federal Court of Appeal, Canada v. Dr. Kevin L. Davis Dentistry Professional Corporation, 2023 FCA 76, and in the Tax Court of Canada, 2021 TCC 25.

Represented CFI Funding Trust in the Tax Court appeal, CFI Funding Trust v. The Queen, 2022 TCC 60.

Counsel to a confidential financial services client in a GST/HST Tax Court appeal settled in March 2022, in respect of an assessment of tax on services that were subsequently agreed to be GST/HST-exempt financial services.

Represented the Crown in the Tax Court of Canada, Cassan v. The Queen, 2017 TCC 174.

Represented the Crown in the Federal Court of Appeal, Kruger Incorporated v. Canada, 2016 FCA 186.

Selected Speaking Engagements

Speaker, "Recent cases and trends on beneficial ownership and treaty eligibility," International Bar Association New Era of Taxation Conference, November 7, 2024.

Speaker, "Cross-Border Tax and Succession Planning for South Asians," South Asian Bar Association North America Conference, July 13, 2024.

Moderator, "Selected Issues in Estate Tax Litigation," Ontario Tax Conference, October 28-29, 2024.

Moderator, "Owner-Manager Remuneration" and "Revisiting Share-Related Rollovers," CTF Ontario Annual Conference, October 23-24, 2023.

Speaker, "Settlement Conferences," CTF Conference: Celebrating the Tax Court of Canada: 40 Years of Service to Canadians, October 5, 2023.

Speaker, "Acquisition of Control and Loss Restriction Rules," CTF Ontario Tax Conference, October 25, 2022.

Speaker, "All About Audits," Wolters Kluwer Webinar, September 8, 2022.

Speaker, "The New Era of Taxation," International Bar Association Conference, December 2, 2021.

Panellist Judge, Donald G.H. Bowman National Tax Moot, February 26-27, 2021.

Speaker, "A Modern Overview of Specific Anti-Avoidance Rules," CTF National Tax Conference, November 2018.

Selected Publications

Author, "A New Limitation on Corporate Loss Utilization Plans," Tax Notes International, July 24, 2023.

Co-Author, "Corporate Loss Restriction Event Rules: An Overview," 2022 Ontario Tax Conference (Toronto: Canadian Tax Foundation, 2022), 12: 1-61.

Co-Author, "A Modern Overview of Specific Anti-Avoidance Rules," 2018 National Tax Conference, Canadian Tax Foundation, November 27, 2018.

Author, "Must a Corporation Be Represented by Counsel in the TCC?," Canadian Tax Focus, Canadian Tax Foundation, November, 2018.

Insights

Related Videos

Education

  • JD, University of Western Ontario, 2013
  • BComm (First Class Honours), Queen's University, 2007

Expertise

Tax
Tax Controversy/Tax Litigation

Industries