These days, in so many aspects of our lives, we are the product (as the saying goes). Retailers, for example, offer loyalty programs because, among other things, they allow our spending habits to be tracked. It turns out that the retailers aren’t the only entities interested in our spending habits, however. The CRA could use these programs to determine whether we have unreported income (eg by obtaining information about our cash purchases from a retailer). See Steven Raphael and Robert G. Kreklewetz, “Loyalty Program Data May Assist the CRA” 25:10 Canadian Tax Highlights (October 2017), which discusses Rona Inc. c Canada (Revenu national), 2017 CAF 118.
