Maxim Law
Tax lawyer for clients across Canada, except Quebec The tax law behind your biggest decisions.
For business owners, professionals, and families.
Canadian tax law for owners with serious value at stake. Corporate reorganizations, ownership transitions, and family trusts, planned and put in writing by a lawyer.
- Led by
- Jason Pisesky, tax lawyer
- Practices
- Nationally, except Quebec
- Works
- By phone, email and video
- Office
- Alberta
When to call a tax lawyer
You have been in business for a while and have not had a structure review in years or maybe ever.
Structure reviewYou are starting a new business.
New businessesYou’re buying out a partner or bringing one in.
Owner buyoutsYour business has outgrown its old structure.
ReorganizationsYou want your investments or real estate kept apart from business risk.
Holding companiesYou’re weighing a family trust or passing ownership to your children.
Family trustsYou’re buying or selling, and the deal isn’t set.
Deal structureYou’ve found a mistake on an old return.
Voluntary disclosures
The best time to involve a tax lawyer is while you still have options. Talk to us before you sign, transfer ownership or put a new structure in place.
A lawyer hired for the deal closes the deal. We plan for what comes after it.
| A lawyer for the deal | Maxim Law |
|---|---|
| Starts when the deal is on the table. | Starts while you still have options. |
| Papers the decision you’ve made. | Helps make the decision, then papers it. |
| Works from the documents you send. | Works from your tax plan, with the accountant who built it. |
| Closes the file when the deal closes. | Stays on the file as your structure changes. |
| Judged on whether the deal closes. | Judged on whether the plan survives a CRA audit. |
What we handle
We design the structure and draft the documents that put it in place. Importantly, Maxim Law is part of the Maxim Advisory Group, and that means your legal services can be integrated with accounting, advisory, financial planning or wealth advisory services, as needed.
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Structures and reorganizations
- When it applies
- Before a change
We set up and reorganize corporations, holding companies and family trusts. That includes buyouts, share changes and estate freezes, which lock in your company’s value today so future growth goes to your children.
Typical situations
- You plan to sell your business in the next few years.
- Your children or key employees are coming into ownership.
- You’re wondering whether a holding company makes sense.
Your shares stay at today’s value. Growth after that goes to your children. -
CRA voluntary disclosures
- When it applies
- When you find the error first
Found a mistake on an old return? The CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program lets you fix it, and forgives more if you come forward first. Talk to a lawyer before you do. What you tell Jason stays private, so he can review the problem before the CRA sees anything.
How much interest the CRA can forgive
75%
You come forward first
Penalties can also be waived in full
25%
The CRA raises it first
The rest of the interest stands
These figures follow the CRA’s rules in effect since October 1, 2025.
Come forward before the CRA contacts you, and most of the interest goes away. -
Corporate records and resolutions
- When it applies
- Before a buyer, bank, or auditor asks
Your minute book is your corporation’s legal record, and where a tax plan gets written down. Jason brings it up to date. He drafts the resolutions your directors sign for dividends, share changes and elections.
Typical situations
- A buyer, bank, or auditor has asked to see the minute book.
- Dividends were paid but never recorded in a resolution.
- You’ve changed shareholders and the register is out of date.
Your minute book holds your bylaws, share register, and dividend records. Jason keeps it current.
A brilliant strategy needs brilliant execution.
Most tax plans start with a CPA. Putting one into effect is legal work. That means new share classes, a family trust, and the resolutions for a tax-free capital dividend. It also means the buyout or shareholder agreement the plan depends on. Maxim Law does that work, for plans built here or by your accountant.
Your accountant and your tax lawyer, working together
| Accountant | Tax lawyer | |
|---|---|---|
| Main work | Develops the strategy, runs the numbers, keeps track of your tax balances, and prepares your returns and elections. Advises you as things change. | Interprets the law and the court cases behind it, designs the structure, and writes the documents and the legal opinion that back it up. Builds the protection before anything goes wrong. |
| In a CRA dispute | Can deal with the CRA and file an objection, which is how you formally tell the CRA you disagree. | Can deal with the CRA, file an objection, and argue an appeal at the Tax Court of Canada. |
| Confidentiality | Keeps your information confidential, but the CRA can ask for it. | What you tell a lawyer for legal advice can stay private under solicitor-client privilege, even from the CRA. |
You don’t need to replace your accountant. We work alongside them. For ongoing tax planning, advice and returns, Maxim Tax can work alongside your legal team here. Many of our engagements now run across both. Privilege covers the legal advice, not the whole file.
Jason Pisesky
Jason is a tax lawyer and partner at Maxim. He leads Maxim Law and Maxim Tax, and is licensed in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories.
Where he started
Felesky Flynn LLP
He started there as a student in 2014 and spent six years on Canadian and international tax planning and tax litigation, the disputes that go to court.
Before Maxim
Partner, KPMG Law
His work covered tax, corporate, and trust law. He reorganized private companies, set up family trusts, advised on business sales and succession plans, and handled disputes with the CRA.
Now
Partner, Maxim
He teaches physicians about tax through the Physician Empowerment Masterclass.
The team behind the plan
Jason handles the legal work. Maxim’s planners and accountants handle the rest, so your tax plan, your filings, and your financial plan come from one firm.
Taxation law is largely a federal matter, with only small differences between provinces. For this reason, tax lawyers typically practice nationally.
When it comes to implementation, Maxim Law works with clients in all provinces and territories, other than Quebec, by phone, email and video, and can implement your tax planning either directly or through local agents, or in collaboration with your own lawyers.
What does a tax lawyer do?
They give legal advice on tax. For a corporate tax lawyer, much of that is planning, like reorganizing a company, setting up a family trust and drafting the documents behind them. A lot of it is execution, turning a strategy your accountant designed into agreements, resolutions and elections. The rest is disputes with the CRA, which can end in an appeal to the Tax Court of Canada.
How will you help me with my structure?
We start with how your corporation is set up today and what you want it to do next. That might mean new share classes, a holding company, a family trust or an estate freeze. We advise on the tax and legal consequences, design the structure, and draft the resolutions and agreements that put it in place.
Do I need a tax lawyer or an accountant?
Often both. Your accountant develops the strategy, runs the numbers and coordinates your corporate and personal tax. A tax lawyer interprets the law, designs and documents the structure, and represents you if the CRA disputes it. For a letter asking for records, your accountant may be enough. Call a tax lawyer when a reassessment is wrong or a deal is on the table. The same goes when the structure itself needs to change. A tax lawyer who handles disputes with the CRA is often called a tax dispute lawyer or tax litigator.
How do Maxim Law and Maxim Tax work together?
Both teams work on the same plan, from different sides. Maxim Tax works with the numbers. It figures out what a decision does to your corporate and personal tax, then prepares and files the returns that follow. Maxim Law works with the law. Jason writes the agreements and the share changes that put the plan in place, gives a legal opinion when you need one, and represents you if the CRA disagrees. Say you want to bring your daughter into the business. Maxim Tax works out what that does to everyone’s tax bill. Maxim Law drafts the share changes and the shareholder agreement. Either way, you deal with one firm.
What is the Voluntary Disclosures Program?
It’s the CRA’s process for fixing past mistakes, such as unreported income or missed filings. You still owe the tax, but the CRA can forgive penalties and some interest. If you apply before the CRA raises the issue, it can waive penalties in full. It can also forgive 75% of the interest. If you apply after the CRA raises it, interest relief drops to 25%. Once the CRA starts an audit or other action on that issue, the program is generally closed to you.
This reflects the CRA’s rules in effect since October 1, 2025.
What is a corporate minute book?
It’s your corporation’s legal record. It holds the articles, bylaws, share register, and the resolutions that approve things like dividends. Buyers, lenders, and the CRA can all ask to see it.
Do I need to be in Alberta to work with Maxim Law?
No. Tax law is a national discipline so Jason can practice tax law across the country. Further, Jason is able to directly, or through agents, ensure proper implementation in all Canadian provinces and territories. In all cases, if you wish, you can choose to have Maxim Law manage the entire process.
Tax plans built to survive a CRA audit. Start with one conversation.
Book a first call with Jason. Bring the deal, the structure you have now, or the CRA letter, and you’ll leave knowing what matters and what it would cost to handle. The first call is a paid consultation, and sometimes that call is all you need.