Senior counsel on every file.

Founder & Managing Tax Lawyer

Dale Barrett

Called in: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta

Dale Barrett is a Canadian tax lawyer, lecturer, and the #1 bestselling author of Tax Survival for Canadians: Stand Up to the CRA. He founded Barrett Tax Law in January 2009 and has represented thousands of clients in disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency, from individual audits to complex corporate reorganizations. Dale's practice focuses on the intersection of tax disputes, corporate tax planning, and estate planning. On the dispute side, he represents individuals, business owners, and professional corporations through every stage of a CRA matter — audits, proposal-letter responses, Notices of Objection, voluntary disclosures, taxpayer relief applications, CRA collections, and appeals to the Tax Court of Canada and the Federal Court. He has handled files involving net worth assessments, gross negligence penalties, unreported income, shareholder benefits, GST/HST, director's liability, and section 160 derivative liability. On the planning side, Dale works on section 85 rollovers, estate freezes, family trusts, Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption planning, and post-mortem and succession planning for incorporated professionals. He also advises on Canada-U.S. cross-border tax matters. Dale is the author of several books on Canadian tax and estate planning and founded Accountant Institute, a continuing professional development platform for Canadian accountants. He is a frequent CPD lecturer and has been featured in Canadian media on tax matters. He is licensed in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta.

• Founded Barrett Tax Law in 2009
• #1 bestselling author of Tax Survival for Canadians
• Founder of Accountant Institute, a CPD platform for Canadian accountants
• Frequent CPD lecturer on Canadian tax and estate planning
• Featured in Canadian media on tax matters

Elana Barrett is the HR Manager at Barrett Tax Law and Barrett Legal, overseeing recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, and day-to-day team operations across both firms.

Lawyer

Simone Barrett

Called in: Ontario, Florida

Simone Barrett is a tax lawyer at Barrett Tax Law who works with individuals, families, entrepreneurs, and business owners when life, wealth, property, or business interests cross the Canada-U.S. border. She is licensed in both Ontario and Florida. Her practice focuses on cross-border tax planning and compliance. For Canadians moving to the United States — many of them heading to Florida — Simone advises on Canadian departure tax, U.S. tax residency, dual-status filing, cross-border trusts, U.S. real estate ownership, FIRPTA withholding, and ownership structures for Canadian buyers, with the goal of addressing the tax consequences before a move, purchase, sale, or change in residency triggers them. For Americans, dual citizens, and other U.S. persons living in Canada, Simone works on the parallel U.S. tax system that follows them across the border: U.S. income tax filings, treaty-based positions, FBAR and FATCA reporting, PFIC and CFC analysis, TFSA and RESP reporting, and the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures for those catching up on past filings. She also advises business owners and high-net-worth families on corporate ownership, family trusts, succession planning, treaty residency, Section 116 clearance certificates for non-resident dispositions of taxable Canadian property, and cross-border restructurings. Whether a client is buying a Florida property, planning a move, managing a family trust, or preparing a Canadian business for a U.S. future, Simone helps them move forward with a clear cross-border tax plan.

• Licensed in both Ontario and Florida
• Experienced in Canada-U.S. cross-border tax planning and compliance
• Works on departure tax, treaty residency, and U.S. estate-tax exposure
• Handles FATCA / FBAR reporting and the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures
• Advises on FIRPTA and Section 116 clearance certificates on cross-border property dispositions

Operations Manager

Robyn Szilagy

Robyn Szilagy is the Operations Manager at Barrett Tax Law and Barrett Legal, overseeing day-to-day firm operations, intake workflow, and internal systems across both practices.

Lawyer

Matthew Rochester

Called in: Ontario

Matthew Rochester is a Canadian tax lawyer at Barrett Tax Law. His practice focuses on disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency, working with individuals, professionals, and incorporated clients across Canada from the firm's Concord head office. On the dispute side, Matthew works on CRA audit defence, proposal-letter responses, Notices of Objection, voluntary disclosures, taxpayer relief applications, and appeals to the Tax Court of Canada. He helps clients respond to reassessments involving unreported income, gross negligence penalties, shareholder benefits, and GST/HST exposure, and he assists clients facing CRA collections activity. Alongside his dispute work, Matthew handles corporate-tax matters for owner-managed businesses, including the day-to-day tax questions that arise for incorporated professionals and small-business owners. He is experienced in translating the mechanics of the Income Tax Act into practical steps clients can act on, and in preparing the documentary record that CRA matters turn on. Matthew is licensed in Ontario and works with clients across the country who are dealing with the CRA or planning around their corporate tax position.

• Practice focuses on CRA disputes and audit defence
• Works on Notices of Objection, voluntary disclosures, and Tax Court of Canada appeals
• Handles corporate-tax matters for owner-managed businesses
• Licensed in Ontario; serves clients across Canada

Paralegal

Darryl Getz

Darryl Getz is a paralegal at Barrett Tax Law, working alongside the firm's tax lawyers on file preparation, CRA correspondence, and document drafting for audit, voluntary disclosure, and Tax Court files.

Paralegal

Chloe Ursomarzo

Chloe Ursomarzo is a paralegal at Barrett Tax Law, supporting the firm's tax practice with file preparation, CRA correspondence, and document drafting on audit, voluntary disclosure, and Tax Court matters.

Paralegal

Sarah Girgenti

Sarah Girgenti is a paralegal at Barrett Tax Law, working alongside the firm's tax lawyers on file preparation, CRA correspondence, and document drafting for audit, voluntary disclosure, and Tax Court files.

Team Member

Julean Burger

Julean Burger is a member of the Barrett Tax Law and Barrett Legal team.

Nicole Barrett is a member of the Barrett Tax Law and Barrett Legal team.

Farrukh Shahzad is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) at Barrett Tax Law, providing accounting analysis on audit-defence files, voluntary disclosures, and corporate matters where the tax-law work intersects with financial-statement and bookkeeping review.

Liam Gilbert-Walsh is a Canadian tax lawyer at Barrett Tax Law. His practice focuses on disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency and on corporate-tax matters, working with individuals and incorporated clients across Canada. On the dispute side, Liam works on CRA audit defence, proposal-letter responses, Notices of Objection, voluntary disclosures, and appeals to the Tax Court of Canada. He assists clients responding to reassessments and helps build the documentary record needed to support a client's position through the objection and appeal stages. Liam is experienced in corporate-tax matters for owner-managed businesses and has a particular focus on owner-managed corporate files and cross-border issues, where the questions often involve how Canadian and U.S. tax rules interact for shareholders, corporations, and beneficiaries with connections on both sides of the border. He approaches each file by mapping the client's facts against the relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act and the applicable treaty, then setting out clear, practical options. Liam is licensed in Ontario and serves clients across the country.

• Practice focuses on CRA disputes and corporate-tax matters
• Works on Notices of Objection, voluntary disclosures, and Tax Court of Canada appeals
• Particular focus on owner-managed corporate and cross-border files
• Licensed in Ontario; serves clients across Canada