Schulich Professor Amin Mawani Receives National Research Award for Community Impact
Amin Mawani, Professor of Taxation at Schulich, and his co-author, Alan Macnaughton of the University of Waterloo, were honoured with the inaugural Thomas Schneider Community Impact Research Award for 2025 by the Canadian Academic Accounting Association (CAAA). The award was presented at the CAAA’s Annual Conference in Toronto on June 14, 2025.
“At Schulich, we’re deeply committed to research that makes a difference,” said Dean Detlev Zwick. “This award is a testament to the power of academic research to shape public policy.”
The Schneider Award, named in memory of Professor Thomas Schneider, celebrates academic research that has demonstrable and long-term impact on professional practice or public policy. The inaugural winning study was selected from among all Canadian accounting research published during the past 25 years:
“Contributions of Employee Stock Options to Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) and TFSAs: Valuation Issues and Policy Anomalies” by Alan Macnaughton (University of Waterloo) and Amin Mawani (Schulich at York)
Canadian Tax Journal, 56(4), 893–922 (2008)
Research That Identified a Major Policy Flaw
The award-winning study was published shortly after Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) were introduced in Canada. At the time, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) guidance and longstanding technical interpretations from 1995 and 1996 allowed employee stock options to be valued at their intrinsic value — meaning out-of-the-money options were effectively valued at zero.
The research pointed out that, under this interpretation, an infinite number of options could theoretically be contributed to a TFSA without violating the $5,000 annual limit then in effect. This loophole risked enabling taxpayers to permanently shelter substantial gains from tax — a result that would have undermined fairness and cost the government significant tax revenue.
Prompt and Unusual CRA Response
The research sparked an almost immediate reaction from the CRA. Shortly after the paper’s publication, CRA officials reached out to the authors and clarified that their earlier statements had been misinterpreted. In a highly unusual move, the CRA invited Macnaughton and Mawani to publish a follow-up article on its behalf, clarifying its position for the tax practitioner community.
That follow-up appeared as:
“Addendum — CRA: Employee Stock Options and TFSAs”, Canadian Tax Highlights, 17:5, p. 10 (2009)
The CRA emphasized that the use of intrinsic value in earlier technical interpretations was merely illustrative. The agency directed taxpayers to instead use a valuation method “appropriate in the circumstances,” such as the Black-Scholes model, but not intrinsic value.
Asking the authors of an academic study to publicly communicate a change in CRA perspective was highly unusual and indicative of the agency’s concern over the potential consequences of the loophole highlighted in the study. The swift and direct response likely helped prevent the exploitation of this policy gap before it became widespread practice.
“It’s an honour to receive the inaugural Thomas Schneider Community Impact Research Award,” said Professor Mawani. “As researchers, we hope our work makes a difference beyond academia, and it’s gratifying to see this study recognized for its real-world impact.”