Don R. Sommerfeldt | Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP

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Don R. Sommerfeldt LL.M., LL.B., M.A., B.A., Consultant

Don is a member of FMC’s Tax Group. His practice focuses on corporate reorganizations, corporate and individual tax planning, international tax planning, estate planning, wealth management, business succession, public and private financings and international tax planning. He also provides advice in respect of pension matters.

From May 1990 to November 1991, Don was seconded to the Department of National Revenue in Ottawa, where he drafted advance income tax rulings and technical interpretations in respect of corporate reorganizations.

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Don is a member of FMC’s Tax Group. His practice focuses on corporate reorganizations, corporate and individual tax planning, estate planning, wealth management, business succession and international tax planning.

Corporate Reorganizations: While seconded to the Reorganizations and Foreign Division of the Rulings Directorate of the Department of National Revenue from May 1990 to November 1991, Don drafted advance income tax rulings and technical interpretations in respect of corporate reorganizations. After he returned to the Edmonton office of FMC, a significant portion of his practice has related to corporate reorganizations.

Cross-Border Tax Planning: While attending Cornell Law School in 2003-2004, Don studied U.S. tax law. Since returning to the Edmonton office of FMC, an increasing proportion of his practice has involved cross-border tax planning, particularly in the context of foreign investment or ventures in Canada and estate planning. After the Alberta government permitted the formation of unlimited liability corporations in Alberta, Don has advised U.S. clients desiring to use unlimited liability corporations in structuring their Canadian business ventures and investments.

Representative Work

Counsel to Katz Group Canada Inc. in sale of a large portion of its independent banner and franchise business to McKesson Corporation

Co-counsel to Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. on its issuance of US$210 million in senior notes

Don provides tax advice to various business entities, including oilfield service companies, energy companies, pipeline operators, utilities and engineering firms. Don provides Canadian tax and corporate advice to foreign entities desiring to invest or carry on business in Canada.

Don also provides advice in respect of several pension plans, including a plan sponsored by a publicly traded corporation in the energy sector, certain multi-employer plans affiliated with trade unions and a public-sector plan established under provincial legislation.

Don regularly works with representatives of various financial institutions to provide tax-planning and estate-planning advice to the clients of those institutions

In the past, Don had a civil litigation and insurance litigation practice. Don's current tax practice includes tax litigation and dispute resolution. As well, he provides advice to professional-liability insurers whose insureds (generally accountants or lawyers) have been sued by their clients for alleged errors in respect of tax matters. Don provides assistance in defending those claims and undertaking remedial action to reduce or eliminate the tax liability of the insureds' clients.

Publications

British Columbia Unlimited Liability Companies (BC ULC)

Unlimited Liability Corporations - First Nova Scotia, Now Alberta

"Restrictive Covenants and Allocation Issues" (case comment on Robert Glegg Investments Inc. v. The Queen), (2009) Canadian Tax Journal, vol. 57, no. 1, p. 66-73

“International Corporate Taxation in Canada”, in Dennis Campbell and Antonida Netzer, eds., The Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business, vol. 30 (Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands: Kluwer Law International, 2008), p. 197-253

"Alberta Unlimited Liability Corporations: A Corporate and Tax Overview", in Report of Proceedings of the Fifty-Seventh Tax Conference, 2005 Conference Report (Toronto: Canadian Tax Foundation, 2006), 27: 1-27:40

“Unlimited Liability Corporations - Recent Developments”, co-authored with Benjamin C. Evans, presented on May 8, 2006 at the Prairie Provinces Tax Conference of the Canadian Tax Foundation and published in the report of that conference

“Update for Tax Practitioners on Alberta Unlimited Liability Corporations”, TaxWorks - Tax Topics (February 16, 2006), no. 1771, pp. 1-5 and TaxWorks - Alberta and Territories Tax Reporter (March 2006), no. 388, pp. 1-5

“Unlimited Liability Corporations - First Nova Scotia, Now Alberta”, TaxWorks - Tax Topics (May 19, 2005), no. 1732, pp. 1-6 and TaxWorks - Alberta and Territories Tax Reporter (July 2005), no. 380, pp. 1-6

“Alberta Unlimited Liability Corporations: New Kid on the Block”, Tax Notes International (April 11, 2005), pp. 141-143

“Cashless Exercise of Employee Stock Options”, Taxation of Executive Compensation and Retirement, November 2004, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 479-482

“Sale of Shares Acquired on Exercise of Stock Option”, Taxation of Executive Compensation and Retirement, November 2003, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 353-356

“Tax Planning - Tax Advantages to Incorporation”, Law Now, March 1993, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 10-11

“Certain Issues Relating to the Creation or Issuance of Shares for Income Splitting”, presented at the 1993 Mid-Winter Meeting of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch and published in the report of that meeting at pp. 577-603

“Tax Exempt Entities: Personal Liability for Officers or Managers; New Filing Requirements”, Milner Fenerty Newsletter, June 1992, pp. 3-4

“Trust Deadline Looms”, Milner Fenerty Newsletter, April 1992, pp. 3-4

“Tax Reform and Corporations,” presented on November 19 and 26, 1988 in Edmonton and Calgary at seminars jointly sponsored by the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta and the Legal Education Society of Alberta and published in the binder of papers delivered at the seminars

“Income Attribution, Income Splitting and Estate Freezing: Recent Developments”, co-authored with Lorene E. Dunn and Wayne N. Renke, presented on May 18, 1988 at the Prairie Provinces Tax Conference of the Canadian Tax Foundation and published in the report of that conference at tab 6, and subsequently presented on July 11, 1988 at a seminar on tax reform and planning sponsored by Video Tax News and published in the binder of materials delivered at the seminar

“Recent Income Tax Developments of Interest to a General Practitioner”, presented at the 1987 Mid-Winter Meeting of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch and published in the report of that meeting at pp. 611-631

“Financing and Investing Considerations after the Budget and the Western Accord”, co-authored with, and presented by, E.R.R. Carruthers at the 1986 Mid-Winter Meeting of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch

“Buy-Sell Pitfall for CCPC’s”, Business & the Law, July 1985, vol. 2, no. 7, pp. 49-51

Teaching Roles

Instructor, "Canadian Business Expansion into the United States: Selected Canadian Tax Considerations", Edmonton Chapter of Certified General Accountants, November 20, 2008

Instructor, “Estate Planning - Tips & Traps”, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta, February 24, 2006

Sessional Instructor, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta - International Taxation, 2005-2008

Sessional Instructor, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta - Corporate Taxation, 2005 to present

Sessional Instructor, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta - Estate Planning, 2003

Prior Speaking Engagements

"Fifth Protocol to Canada-U.S. Tax Treaty: Impact on ULCs", webcast presented on September 18, 2008 with Anne Calverley and Christopher Steeves to the Association of Corporate Counsel Energy Committee

“Alberta Unlimited Liability Corporations”, presented on December 8, 2005 with Mark Woltersdorf, at Edmonton Tax Daze 2005, sponsored by the Edmonton Tax Services Office of the Canada Revenue Agency

“Alberta Unlimited Liability Corporations”, presented on October 11, 2005 to the tax group of a national accounting affiliation, on October 11, 2005 to the Edmonton Tax Discussion Group and on November 23, 2005 to the Taxation Section (Northern) of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch

“Recent Amendments to the Business Corporations Act (Alberta)”, presented on October 6, 2005 to a conference sponsored by Video Tax News

“Alberta Unlimited Liability Corporations - A Corporate and Tax Overview”, presented on September 27, 2005 at the 57th Annual Conference of the Canadian Tax Foundation held in Vancouver, British Columbia

“Alberta Unlimited Liability Corporations”, presented on September 7, 2005 to the Vancouver Branch of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

“Deductible, Eh! A Fool’s Potpourri of Canadian Case Law”, presented on April 1, 2004 as part of the monthly LL.M. Seminar Series sponsored by the Graduate Legal Studies Program and the LL.M. Association of Cornell Law School

“Certain Proposed Technical Amendments to the Income Tax Act”, presented on February 26, 2003 to the Tax Specialists Section (Northern) of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch

“Unwinding the Commercial Deal”, presented on October 27, 1999 to the Tax Specialists Section (Northern) of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch

“Academic Alchemy: How To Change a 6 into a 9 Without Having To Read Your Transcript Upside Down”, presented on January 15, 1999 to a Friday Forum of the LDS Institute of Religion in Edmonton

“An Introduction to the Life and Thought of J. Reuben Clark”, presented on June 18, 1998 to the Edmonton chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society

“Tax Planning with Trusts - An Introduction”, presented on June 15, 1998 to Edmonton sales representatives of Investors Group

“Case Comment (Neuman v. The Queen [1998] 3 CTC 177, 98 DTC 6297 (SCC))”, presented as part of a professional development video produced and distributed by Video Tax News in June 1998

“Highlights of the 1996 Canadian Tax Foundation Conference”, presented with two other lawyers on December 18, 1996 to the Tax Specialists Section (Northern) of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch

“Case Comment (The Queen v. Neuman [ 1996] 3 CTC 270, 96, DTC 6464 (FCA))”, presented as part of a professional development video produced and distributed by Video Tax News in October 1996

“Proposed amendments to Section 112 of the Income Tax Act”, presented on November 29, 1995 to the Estate Planning Council of Edmonton and on January 9, 1996 to the Wills & Estates Section (Edmonton) of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch

“A Discussion of Recent Tax Developments”, presented on October 25, 1995, November 29, 1995, January 24, 1996, September 25, 1996 and March 13, 1997 to the Estate Planning Council of Edmonton

“Tax Principles for Professional Electrical Contractors”, presented on April 28, 1994, October 19, 1994, November 24, 1994, February 2, 1996, October 10, 1996, April 23, 1998, November 12, 1998, January 20, 2000 and September 28, 2000 in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer at professional development seminars sponsored by the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

“Estate Planning Case Study”, presented on January 26, 1994 to the Estate Planning Council of Edmonton

“Proposed Amendments for Tax-Exempt Entities”, presented as part of a professional development video produced and distributed by Video Tax News in October 1992

“The Advance Rulings Process”, presented on February 4, 1992 to the Edmonton Tax Group

“The Taxation of Employment Income”, presented on March 9, 1990 at a seminar for employees of Lacombe Community Health Care Centre

“Pitfalls in Commercial Transactions - A Discussion of Price Adjustment Clauses, Bare Trusts, Paragraph 85(1)(e.2) of the Income Tax Act and Dating of Documents”, presented on September 27, 1989 to the Taxation Section (Edmonton) of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch

“An Overview of Bill C-146, An Act to Amend the Tax Court of Canada Act", presented on September 13, 1988 to the Edmonton Tax Group

“An Analysis of the General Anti-Avoidance Rule”, presented on March 9, 1988 to the Edmonton Tax Discussion Group

“Certain Canadian Federal Income Tax Considerations Pertaining to a Canadian Corporation which Incorporates or Acquires an Operating Corporation in the United States”, presented on January 12, 1988 at a seminar jointly sponsored by Dominion Securities Inc., Breed, Abbott & Morgan and Milner & Steer

“Case Comment (The Queen v. Attaie [1987] 2 CTC 212, 87 DTC 5411 (FCTD))”, presented as part of a professional development video produced and distributed by Video Tax News in January 1988

“A Critique of the General Anti-Avoidance Rule”, presented on October 20, 1987 to the Edmonton Tax Group

“A Discussion of Common Problem Areas in Tax-Motivated Transactions”, presented on May 28, 1986 to the Taxation Section (Edmonton) of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch

“Case Comment (Mansfield v. The Queen [1984] CTC 547, 84 DTC 6535 (FCA)) and a Discussion of Employee Stock Options”, presented as part of a professional development video produced and distributed by Video Tax News in December 1984

“A Discussion of Recent Tax Developments”, presented on October 17, 1984 and May 15, 1985 to the Taxation Section (Edmonton) of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch