GREENFIELDS LAW provides its Canadian and international clients with legal expertise in a wide range of services including commercial real estate, corporate governance, securities, corporate finance, income and sales tax matters, international structures for both in-bound and out-bound investment, private placements, exempt market dealer matters, project finance and development, corporate sales and acquisitions, amalgamations, joint ventures, partnerships, mutual fund trusts, international trade and estate planning.
GREENFIELDS LAW practices in the following areas:
Commercial Real Estate
Commercial Transactions
Commodity and Sales Taxes
Employment
Energy
Estate, Trust and Wealth Management
Immigration
Project Development
Taxation
Commercial Real Estate
We have extensive experience acting for a variety of clients in commercial real estate acquisition, disposition and financing, leasing and operations, mortgage and land syndications, condominium development, real estate investment trusts (REITS) and project development.
Our clients include developers, landlords, asset managers, property managers, tenants, financial institutions, private lenders and utility companies.
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Commercial Transactions
We have experience in most types of corporate and commercial transactions, including the formation of corporations, partnerships and trusts, the establishment of agreements governing their management, venture financing, joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions of businesses and properties, shareholder agreements, franchises, asset leasing, distribution agreements and other commercial agreements. We act on all types of financing arrangements, including private placements, private lending transactions, real estate and asset securitization, bank loans, and project finance. We have extensive experience in many types of corporate and commercial transactions which involve both in-bound and out-bound cross border transactions.
Legal Contacts
» Ryan M. Doig
» Samuel F. Durante
» Ryan M.P. Shewchuk
» John W. McClure
» H. Ronald Hansford
» Phil Matkin
Commodity and Sales Taxes
We act for clients with respect to all commodity and sales tax matters for domestic transactions, import and export transactions, international purchases or supplies of goods and services and the administration and compliance requirements with respect to the Goods and Services Tax ("GST") and the harmonized sales tax regimes. We have extensive experience with the interpretation of the GST legislation as well with the application of the provisions of the legislation and where the harmonized regime may apply. We have advised and acted for clients with respect to disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency respecting these matters and we frequently provide our advice and recommendations respecting the application of the GST legislation for all manners of domestic, in-bound and out-bound transactions.
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Energy
We have a broad range of experience advising clients in the renewable energy, electricity, and oil and gas sectors both domestic and international. We advise emerging and established domestic and international energy companies on financing, regulatory and commercial matters.
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Estate, Trust and Wealth Management
The retention of personal wealth and the management of tax efficient wealth transfer is an increasingly important objective for most Canadians. Careful attention and knowledge of the impact of taxation on the retention of wealth and respecting wealth transfers is an important tool for most individuals. Creating structures during one's lifetime and paying careful attention to estate planning can ensure the most effective and controlled wealth accumulation and wealth transfer. Today many clients have accumulated both domestic and international assets and it is increasingly important that tax planning take place to ensure that our client's assets are not penalized with double tax or imbedded with delays during a transfer to other family members.
The proper estate plan assists our clients in avoiding family conflicts, provides the most efficient and effective net after tax results and contains maximum flexibility for changing future events. In addition, our clients can consider the most effective estate management procedures in the case of incapacity and have the comfort of dealing with end of life decisions. We provide these services to our clients on a regular basis and we are very familiar with the most up to date policies, procedures and legislative developments ensuring our client's objectives and plans are met.
Other personal services we provide include the analysis and establishment of employment and compensation plans, stock option plans and employment retirement planning. Our firm provides advice to both employers and employees to ensure that proper contracts are in place to provide the intended results for the parties and, where appropriate, tax planning is included to optimize employment benefits.
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Project Development
Whether our clients are developing capital infrastructure projects or commercial and residential real estate developments, we support our clients through the complete lifecycle of the project. Our advice and representation includes selecting and implementing the most appropriate structures, raising financing through debt and equity transactions, negotiating and drafting engineering service agreements, construction agreements and EPC contracts and supporting the project team right through to close-out.
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Taxation
Tax Planning
Our clients require qualified tax planning and strategies which will compliment and effectively deal with their personal and business complexities and the increasing need to service multiple international markets. Our firm has extensive experience and skills to assist our clients in meeting and exceeding their objectives in a tax efficient manner.
We provide income tax analysis and planning for both domestic and international transactions including mergers and acquisitions, financing structures, purchase and sale transactions, corporate reorganizations, amalgamations, shareholder agreements, withholding tax matters, cross border supplies of goods and services, private mutual fund organizations, both in-bound and out-bound investments of entities, real estate, tangible property and services, partnership structures, joint venture structures and trusts.
We have extensive experience in acting for clients in all business sectors and we are engaged by both domestic and international clients to assist them in establishing and maintaining the most appropriate and efficient tax structure and strategy.
International Real Property Transactions
With the increased out-bound investment by Canadian entities and individuals in international real property transactions careful attention should be paid prior to an acquisition to ensure that an appropriate purchasing structure is put in place to avoid double taxation by two jurisdictions. We have extensive experience in advising both domestic and international clients on the best approach to integrate two or more tax regimes taking into account Canada's international tax conventions and domestic tax legislation so as to avoid double tax, to avoid foreign estate taxes and to maximize foreign tax credit entitlements.