Lanthier to chair CTF

Allan R. Lanthier, FCA, was elected chair of the Canadian Tax Foundation at the organization’s annual meeting on September 25 in Vancouver. The term is for one year.

Lanthier, who lives in Montreal, has been practising tax for more than 30 years with Ernst & Young LLP and its predecessor firms. He retired as a senior partner on June 30, 2004 and is now senior adviser to the firm. Widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading tax advisers, he has served the tax profession in a number of volunteer capacities during his career. He is a former chair of the Tax Committee of the CICA and co-chair of the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the CICA. He is a member of the International Tax Advisory Committee of the Canada Revenue Agency, and a former member of council of the Canadian Branch of the International Fiscal Association. Lanthier was also one of the nine members of the Technical Committee on Business Taxation (which reported its findings and recommendations to the federal finance minister in April 1998). Many of the committee’s recommendations have since been enacted.

The Canadian Tax Foundation was organized in 1945 by the joint action of the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants as an impartial tax research organization. It has more than 8,000 members, and provides a forum for discussion and study of issues of taxation and government finance, through research projects, conferences, seminars and publications.

"It's an exciting time for me to be taking on this position," says Lanthier, who has served on the foundation's executive committee since 2003. "Tax practice is going through a sea change right now, in terms of the regulatory environment and its impact on taxpayers. Through its research and publications, the foundation will continue to assist tax advisers as they cope with these changes."