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Called to the Bar
  • Ontario (2019)
Education
  • Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, In-Depth Tax Program, 2023
  • University of Ottawa, J.D., 2018
  • City University of New York, Ph. D, 2014
  • University of Toronto, B.A., 2008
Affiliations
  • Canadian Tax Foundation
  • Law Society of Ontario
  • Ontario Bar Association
Languages
  • English
  • Russian

Valentine Gurfinkel is a Partner in the Tax Practice Group at WeirFoulds LLP.

Valentine advises and represents multinational enterprises, businesses and individuals on a wide range of domestic, international and indirect tax issues and disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency and provincial tax authorities.

His practice encompasses all stages of the tax dispute resolution cycle, from complex audits and large objections to court appeals. His experience extends to successfully resolving matters related to transfer pricing, withholding taxes, real estate, shareholder benefits, offshore compliance, directors’ labilities, and aggressive tax planning. He is known for his ability to negotiate favourable settlements at the earliest stage.

Valentine also routinely secures relief for his clients through voluntary disclosures, interest and penalty relief applications, and other discretionary remedies. His practice includes defending clients against aggressive tax collection actions.

Valentine is active in the broader tax community. He regularly presents and writes on a host of tax topics and has been cited in TaxnetPro and in the Practitioner’s Income Tax Act.

Experience
  • Represented an oil and gas multinational against CRA’s proposed $20M+ transfer pricing adjustment, successfully overturning the adjustment in full at the audit stage.
  • Represented a multinational in the energy sector at CRA audit, securing over $10M+ in deductions previously denied.
  • Defended an individual listed in the Panama Papers against CRA’s claim of offshore non-compliance.
  • Represented a corporate taxpayer on a $2.5M+ GST/HST Tax Court appeal in respect of exempt gold supplies and secured a consent judgment reducing adjustments by over 80%.
  • Nuashok Jewellers Ltd. v. His Majesty the King (2024-13(GST)
  • Paul Coombs v. His Majesty the King (2025-1302(IT)
  • Stella Hutchinson v. Her Majesty the Queen (2016-1400(IT)
  • Stella Hutchinson v. Her Majesty the Queen (2016-1410(GST)
  • Canadian Tax Foundation, Young Practitioners Steering Committee
  • Represented an oil and gas multinational against CRA’s proposed $20M+ transfer pricing adjustment, successfully overturning the adjustment in full at the audit stage.
  • Represented a multinational in the energy sector at CRA audit, securing over $10M+ in deductions previously denied.
  • Defended an individual listed in the Panama Papers against CRA’s claim of offshore non-compliance.
  • Represented a corporate taxpayer on a $2.5M+ GST/HST Tax Court appeal in respect of exempt gold supplies and secured a consent judgment reducing adjustments by over 80%.
  • Nuashok Jewellers Ltd. v. His Majesty the King (2024-13(GST)
  • Paul Coombs v. His Majesty the King (2025-1302(IT)
  • Stella Hutchinson v. Her Majesty the Queen (2016-1400(IT)
  • Stella Hutchinson v. Her Majesty the Queen (2016-1410(GST)
  • Canadian Tax Foundation, Young Practitioners Steering Committee

Valentine Gurfinkel is a Partner in the Tax Practice Group at WeirFoulds LLP.

Valentine advises and represents multinational enterprises, businesses and individuals on a wide range of domestic, international and indirect tax issues and disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency and provincial tax authorities.

His practice encompasses all stages of the tax dispute resolution cycle, from complex audits and large objections to court appeals. His experience extends to successfully resolving matters related to transfer pricing, withholding taxes, real estate, shareholder benefits, offshore compliance, directors’ labilities, and aggressive tax planning. He is known for his ability to negotiate favourable settlements at the earliest stage.

Valentine also routinely secures relief for his clients through voluntary disclosures, interest and penalty relief applications, and other discretionary remedies. His practice includes defending clients against aggressive tax collection actions.

Valentine is active in the broader tax community. He regularly presents and writes on a host of tax topics and has been cited in TaxnetPro and in the Practitioner’s Income Tax Act.

Experience
  • Represented an oil and gas multinational against CRA’s proposed $20M+ transfer pricing adjustment, successfully overturning the adjustment in full at the audit stage.
  • Represented a multinational in the energy sector at CRA audit, securing over $10M+ in deductions previously denied.
  • Defended an individual listed in the Panama Papers against CRA’s claim of offshore non-compliance.
  • Represented a corporate taxpayer on a $2.5M+ GST/HST Tax Court appeal in respect of exempt gold supplies and secured a consent judgment reducing adjustments by over 80%.
  • Nuashok Jewellers Ltd. v. His Majesty the King (2024-13(GST)
  • Paul Coombs v. His Majesty the King (2025-1302(IT)
  • Stella Hutchinson v. Her Majesty the Queen (2016-1400(IT)
  • Stella Hutchinson v. Her Majesty the Queen (2016-1410(GST)
  • Canadian Tax Foundation, Young Practitioners Steering Committee
  • Represented an oil and gas multinational against CRA’s proposed $20M+ transfer pricing adjustment, successfully overturning the adjustment in full at the audit stage.
  • Represented a multinational in the energy sector at CRA audit, securing over $10M+ in deductions previously denied.
  • Defended an individual listed in the Panama Papers against CRA’s claim of offshore non-compliance.
  • Represented a corporate taxpayer on a $2.5M+ GST/HST Tax Court appeal in respect of exempt gold supplies and secured a consent judgment reducing adjustments by over 80%.
  • Nuashok Jewellers Ltd. v. His Majesty the King (2024-13(GST)
  • Paul Coombs v. His Majesty the King (2025-1302(IT)
  • Stella Hutchinson v. Her Majesty the Queen (2016-1400(IT)
  • Stella Hutchinson v. Her Majesty the Queen (2016-1410(GST)
  • Canadian Tax Foundation, Young Practitioners Steering Committee
Called to the Bar
  • Ontario (2019)
Education
  • Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, In-Depth Tax Program, 2023
  • University of Ottawa, J.D., 2018
  • City University of New York, Ph. D, 2014
  • University of Toronto, B.A., 2008
Affiliations
  • Canadian Tax Foundation
  • Law Society of Ontario
  • Ontario Bar Association
Languages
  • English
  • Russian
Speaking Engagements
  • Speaker, “Case Law Update”, Toronto Young Practitioners Group Meeting, Canadian Tax Foundation, Toronto, ON, November 13 2024
  • Speaker, “The Current State of CRA Audits”, Ontario Bar Association, Online, March 5 2024
  • Speaker, “CRA Topics”, Canadian Tax Foundation, Toronto, October 10 2023
  • Speaker, “Voluntary Disclosures in Estates Matters”, The Six-Minute Estates Lawyer, Law Society of Ontario, Online, May 25 2022
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Additional Publications

  • Author, “FCA Reversal: Directors’ Liability Arises at the Time of Corporate Default”, Canadian Tax Focus, Volume 10, Number 3, August 2020
  • Author, “Tedesco v. Canada”, Ontario Bar Association Taxation Law Newsletter, January 2020
  • Author, “Section 160 Weakened in Regard to Directors’ Liability”, Canadian Tax Focus, Volume 9, Number 3, August 2019
  • Co-Author, “Third-Party Civil Penalties for Accountants”, The Tax Advocate Newsletter (TaxnetPro), November 2017