David J. Rotfleisch, CPA, JD
Founding Canadian tax lawyer, David J. Rotfleisch, is a Certified Specialist in Taxation expert in the realm of Canadian income tax law. You might say that income tax is David’s passion for David is not only a lawyer, he is a chartered professional accountant and has completed the CICA in-depth tax course. He has helped start-up businesses, resident and non-resident business owners and corporations with their tax affairs, and over the years, he has assisted numerous corporations and individuals with simple and complex tax and estate planning matters as well as voluntary disclosures (VDP or tax amnesty) and tax audit and tax litigation issues.
David’s second passion is technology, and with an extensive background in the computer and IT industry, David is especially adept at dealing with high-tech legal issues, such as software development and intellectual property.
He graduated from McGill University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and became a chartered accountant in 1977. He then attended Osgoode Hall Law School where he took all tax courses available and was admitted to the Ontario bar in 1983. He founded his Canadian tax law firm in 1987.
He blogs extensively and has published tax articles in professional publications and in the press and appears regularly on radio and television.
As of the end of April 2020, David Rotfleisch is one of only 12 Ontario Certified Specialists In Taxation.
Faces Behind Our Success
Lawyers
Kevin Persaud
Jack Wang
Erik Knopf
Nancy Li
Paralegals
Jason Dos Anjos
Amol Bhangoo
Evgeniia Predannykova
Admin
Denise Tripp
Danielle Kuechler
Students
Simon Lithwick
Hoang Nguyen
Zoological Staff
Enchantée, Goodwill Ambassador
GAAR-field,
Tax Fairness Defender
What Our Clients Say
I’ve used Rotfleisch & Samulovitch for complex tax planning matters over the past few years. I’ve found them to be extremely knowledgeable, professional & effective, and would highly recommend them especially for entrepreneurs and their companies. R&S’ legal tax knowledge are a solid complement to the expertise of a quality accountant.
Mark BarnicuttToronto, Tel Aviv
Pro Tip
Tax Audits in Ontario
There are over 350,000 tax audit and review actions conducted by the Canada Revenue Agency on a yearly basis. Around 15,000 of these tax audits deal with “cash only” businesses (i.e. the underground economy). Additionally, an estimated 35,000 are tax shelter audits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tax lawyers, who are also known as taxation lawyers, or income tax lawyers are professionals specializing in taxation law. They are experts in tax law, having graduated from accredited law schools, and completed their articling program. They receive their law license from provincial law societies after successfully completing their bar examinations. It is these law societies that allow them to practice law. Tax lawyers practice tax law and have specialized in income tax law in full time practice.
They had typically performed above average in their tax law courses in law school, and usually during their articling program and summer internships they have worked under the close supervision of income tax lawyers of a tax law firm and decided to specialize in tax law when they became practicing lawyers. Some tax lawyers in Canada, such as the founder of the firm, David J. Rotfleisch, have additional qualifications in tax law by also being chartered professional accountants or chartered accountants (CPA or CA). The area of specialization for them is taxation law.
The Law Society of Ontario, which governs the legal profession in Ontario, sets out criteria that have to be met in order for a lawyer to be recognized as a specialist in a field of law.
Certified Specialist in Taxation is the certification given to tax lawyers who have met the criteria set out by the Ontario law society. As of the end of April 2020 David Rotfleisch is one of only 12 certified specialists in taxation.