Supreme Court of Canada Dismisses Leave to Appeal in Dividend Beneficial Ownership Dispute Involving Barbados and Luxembourg

On 3 September 2026, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Husky Energy Inc.’s application for leave to appeal a 2025 decision of the Federal Court of Appeal, which held that Luxembourg corporations receiving dividends were merely conduits and not the beneficial owners for tax purposes. As a result, the dividends remain subject to a 15% withholding tax rate under the Canada-Barbados tax treaty, rather than the lower 5% rate claimed under the Canada-Luxembourg treaty. The following is a summa…