Former newspaper tycoon won’t get a Supreme Court hearing in tax appeal case

OTTAWA – Former newspaper baron Conrad Black has lost his last effort to shield million of dollars from the Canadian taxman.

The Supreme Court of Canada, without giving reasons, has turned down Black’s bid to appeal a 2014 ruling from the Tax Court.

That decision found Black to be a resident of Canada in 2002 for the purposes of the Income Tax Act, meaning he was required to pay tax on his worldwide income.

The court said Black was deemed to be a resident of Britain under a Canada-United Kingdom tax convention, but was also a Canadian resident subject to tax.

The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed Black’s appeal in a terse, six-paragraph ruling last fall.

Black, a peer of the United Kingdom, was a prominent newspaper owner until he was charged, convicted and jailed in the United States for mail fraud and obstruction of justice.