Christopher
Slade

Chris is highly regarded in domestic and international tax controversy and litigation. He is recognized by Chambers and Partners as a leading lawyer in the area of Tax Litigation, and is praised for being “extremely thorough and prepared” and “extremely responsible and very calm in his approach to clients’ situations.” Additionally, Chris is featured in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a top lawyer in Corporate Tax Litigation and has been included since 2019 in the International Tax Review’s World Tax Guide for his expertise in Tax Controversy. Chris’s strategic approach positions clients for effective negotiation with tax authorities and avoids unnecessary litigation. He has an exceptional track record, having successfully resolved the majority of his cases by consent judgment or at the administrative appeals level.

Chris is a member of the firm’s Tax and Tax Controversy/Tax Litigation Groups. He has represented a wide array of clients, including multinational corporations, financial institutions, private equity firms, pension funds and ultra high net worth individuals. Chris routinely handles high-value and complex cases, demonstrating broad expertise across the spectrum of tax controversy issues including the treatment of M&A deal costs, rules limiting the use of losses, transfer pricing, non-resident withholding tax, the General Anti-Avoidance Rule, income characterization, large group appeals relating to employee benefits and RRSP trusts,  and issues involving Canada’s goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST).

In addition to his expertise in tax litigation, Chris advises clients throughout the audit process. His practice includes the remediation of tax compliance errors, making disclosures under the Voluntary Disclosures Program, obtaining interest and penalty relief and securing other discretionary remedies. Chris is adept at challenging collection action and other administrative measures taken by tax authorities, particularly in the cross-border context. He has extensive experience resolving administrative disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency, and has acted on leading cases involving cross-border audits, foreign-based information requirements, compliance order proceedings, the Advance Pricing Agreement program and disputes relating to the Mutual Agreement Procedure in Canada’s income tax treaties. Chris also collaborates regularly with other members of the Tax Group to assist clients with transactional and tax advisory matters and has been engaged to provide expert tax opinion evidence in commercial arbitration proceedings.

Chris has made significant contributions to the field of tax law through his published articles on a variety of tax issues in professional legal journals, and he is currently co-author of the Chambers Tax Controversy Global Practice Guide (Canada Chapter). Chris has also presented at numerous conferences and events for tax executives and practitioners in Canada and internationally.

Early in his legal career, Chris completed a judicial clerkship at the Tax Court of Canada. Prior to joining Aird & Berlis, Chris was a senior partner at a national law firm affiliated with one of the Big 4 accounting firms, where he co-led the affiliated firm’s tax litigation practice in Toronto.