Rob Worthington
Rob Worthington
TEP(He/Him)
Partner,
Practice Group Leader
Overview
Experience
Professional
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Client Stories

Rob Worthington has a broad tax practice that includes advising corporations and their shareholders on domestic and cross-border investments, transactions and business structures to optimize their tax situation.

Rob has implemented corporate reorganizations for businesses in a variety of industries and provided tax advice on financing and merger and acquisition transactions. His practice involves a significant international tax component, acting for clients ranging from owner-managed businesses to public companies. He has also successfully negotiated favourable outcomes with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Business owners and individuals turn to Rob when facing complex tax issues such as:

  • Structuring advice for inbound investment for non-residents carrying on business in Canada
  • Implementation of cross-border financing strategies to maximize interest deductions
  • Facilitating shareholder buy-outs in a tax-efficient manner
  • Advising on the judicious use of trusts for asset protection, tax efficiencies, and business succession
  • Unconventional tax strategies using derivatives and financial instruments
  • Business succession planning
  • Minimizing the erosion of family wealth from tax and double tax on death
  • Mitigating departure tax for Canadians emigrating to other countries

Rob is also a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars on tax topics. He is also the leader of the tax group at Field Law. 

Value to Clients

Tax is something that touches all businesses and everyone’s personal life. Rob is able to quickly assess a business situation and determine how he and his team can add value. The end result is that tax law services are a profit centre, not a cost.

Outside the Office

Being a former professional musician, Rob enjoys philanthropic pursuits, which include music and the arts.

Canadian Tax Foundation
Member
Canadian Bar Association
Member
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
Member
March 2024 - 2 min read
Tax Compliance for Bare Trusts in Alberta Real Estate
For taxation years beginning in 2023, bare trusts are required to file a T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Return. The return requires detailed information about the trustee and the beneficiaries. Failure to comply with this filing r...
March 6, 2024
Beyond Borders: An Update on Cross-Border Trust Issues
Webinar
Join Rob Worthington and Saul Abrams for Beyond Borders, a complimentary webinar series designed to provide you with invaluable insights and strategies to confidently navigate the world of cross-border tax issues. From under...
February 14, 2023
Tax Executives Institute (TEI) - Houston Chapter Conference
Speaker
Our Cross-Border Tax Team is proud to be presenting at the Tax Executives Institute (TEI) - Houston Chapter Conference on Feb 14 to speak about the changing landscape for hybrids under OECD guidelines from a US-Canada tax perspective.Robert W...
September 2021
Private Members Bill Creates Unique (and Momentary) Tax Planning Opportunities
The Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Act") was recently amended by private member's Bill C-208 (the "Bill") to address an inequity disadvantaging intergenerational transfers of businesses to family members. It is common for busines...
August 2021 - 3 min read
Can You Transfer Your Business to Your Family Tax-Free?
The capital gains exemption is not dying completely, but there is a broader way to use it now than there has been before, or likely, ever will be again. Canadian-resident individuals have long faced an unfair scenario when trying to pass along their fa...
August 2020 - 3 min read
Stress-Testing Your Asset and Corporate Structure
A tumultuous new reality has spread across the international economy. While some will weather troubled times well, or even profit from them, others will experience a more negative impact. Competent financial planners will consider different scenarios t...
November 29, 2019
Knowing When to “Lawyer Up”
Business in Calgary
Legal professionals offer advice to business owners on when to ask for help.
November 7, 2019
Practical Considerations for the Investment Income Rules for Private Companies
Seminars
Private companies have seen much newsworthy tax reform in recent years. Changes to the tax rules on investment income earned by Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) result in various pitfalls where there is more than $50,000 of investment i...
October 17, 2019
Business Succession Planning Webinar
Business succession is a principal and critical component of personal succession for owners of closely held businesses. This is a long-term, complex process that must be managed with a structured approach. Presented by Rob Worthington and J.R. Mac...
September 25, 2019
Practical Considerations for the Investment Income Rules for Private Companies
Seminars
Private companies have seen much newsworthy tax reform in recent years. Changes to the tax rules on investment income earned by Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) result in various pitfalls where there is more than $50,000 of investment i...
May 23, 2019
Practical Considerations for the Investment Income Rules for Private Companies
Seminars
Canadian private companies have seen much newsworthy tax reform in recent years. Changes to the tax rules on investment income earned by Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) result in various pitfalls where there is more than $50,000 of inv...
February 2019
Is it Time to Re-examine Your Corporate Structure?
Practical Considerations for the Investment Income Rules for Private Companies Canadian private companies have seen much newsworthy tax reform in recent years. One change is in the area of income sprinkling. Another major change in tax law is t...

Client saved from bankruptcy

Where we began: Our client was an external director for a company that provided equipment rentals in the oil sands. The company ran into financial difficulties and management (including some of the directors) did not make the required payroll and GST remittances. The CRA assessed our client as owing over $200,000 for the company's failure to remit.

Our approach: Through out-of-court negotiations with the Department of Justice we were able to reduce our client's liability from $200,000 to $0.

The result: By negotiating a settlement, the client avoided the expense and ordeal of a court case. If forced to repay the $200,000 to the CRA the client would likely have faced bankruptcy.

Tax-efficient strategy saves real estate deal

Where we began: A sophisticated foreign investor group wanted to participate in a real estate development project in Calgary with a local project manager. When they were told that the corporate tax rate in Canada was 27%, much higher than the tax rate in their home jurisdiction, the investor group did not want to proceed with the deal.

Our approach: By constructing a bespoke strategy that included a combination of participating debentures, forward sales of partnership units, and shifting tax pools that could not be utilized by non-residents to the Canadian-resident project manager, we managed to reduce the tax burden to 14.5% for the investors.

The result: The reduced tax rate was acceptable to the investor group and they proceeded with the deal. The beautiful part of the strategy is that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will not lose money. In fact, more taxes will be collected in Canada, despite the reduced tax rate for the investor group.

Education
STEP Canada, 2013
Admissions
British Columbia,2008
Alberta,2004