BUSINESS STRUCTURE & REORGANIZATION
Tax advice for business structures that need to change.
The right structure for your business depends on who owns it, how it operates, and what you plan to do next. As a business grows, adds shareholders, moves assets, or prepares for succession, its existing structure may no longer fit.
We advise Canadian business owners on tax considerations involved in structuring and reorganizing their companies. We help you understand the available options, the steps involved, and the issues to address before changes are made.
When to review your structure
A structure that worked when the business was smaller may create complications as circumstances change. You may want advice when you are:
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Bringing a new shareholder into the business
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Separating business operations from valuable assets
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Moving assets between related companies
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Preparing for a sale or ownership transition
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Expanding into another province or country
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Considering whether shares may qualify for investment through registered plans
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Planning a reorganization as part of a broader business change
The right answer depends on the facts, the current ownership, and the business’s goals. A review can help identify questions and choices before you implement a change.
How we can help
We advise on tax considerations connected to:
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Corporate reorganizations and changes in ownership
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Transfers of assets between corporations
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Shareholder entry, exit, and succession planning
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Business expansion and cross-border structures
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Tax review of proposed transactions
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Opinions on whether shares may qualify for registered-plan investments
We can work with your accountant and other advisors so the tax advice fits the company’s financial and commercial plans.
Plan the change before you make it
Reorganizations can involve several steps, documents, and timing considerations. We start by understanding what you want the business structure to accomplish. Then we assess the relevant options, explain the key tax issues, and help plan the legal work needed to implement the chosen approach.
Why Outsiders?
Tax decisions are connected to the way a business is owned, operated, and planned for the future. Outsiders Law brings tax and business law experience together, so the advice can account for the wider transaction or ownership picture.
We work directly with business owners and coordinate with their accountants and other advisors. Our goal is to explain the issues clearly, help you understand your options, and support the next decision.
Meet the Team
Sebastian Elawny
Lawyerpreneur
Before founding Outsiders Law, Sebastian was named as tax counsel on numerous publicly reported
Canadian transactions, including the $1.258 billion Gibson Energy sale, the Sinopec/Addax Petroleum
transaction, the $198 million Parex/Verano acquisition, and Shaw Communications’ public debt and preferred-
share offerings. He was recognized with a 2018 Client Choice Award for Corporate Tax in Alberta and
appeared in Lexpert’s 2015 Rising Stars winners list.
Pierce Quaghebeur
Tax Savings Strategist
Pierce is a tax and corporate lawyer at Outsiders Law who makes sure the deal a client signs is also the right deal at tax time. Before joining Outsiders, he spent five years in the corporate tax and private client services group of a large national law firm, advising private corporations and their owners on tax and succession planning and corporate governance. He began his legal career in Edmonton, where he articled and practiced tax and general corporate law.