Neal Armstrong reports that the Federal Court has ruled that an agreement concluded by one auditor not to further audit a taxpayer is binding on the CRA. See Rosenberg v MNR, 2016 FC 1376. I have not been able to…
S 55(2.1)(b)(ii)(B) and cash
According to the CRA, cash is property for the purposes of the application of s 55(2.1)(b)(ii)(B). 2016 CTF Roundtable Q8. S 55(2.1)(b) reads as follows: (b) it is the case that (i) one of the purposes of the payment or…
RRSP/RRIF/TFSA “advantages”
The CRA believes that an annuitant who pays fees (investment management and other fees) for an RRSP/RRIF/TFSA thereby derives an “advantage”. The CRA says that, with effect after 2017, plans must be changed so that the fees are charged to…
More s 55 hocus pocus
Holdco owns all of Opco’s issued shares. Both corporations have calendar year-ends. Opco doesn’t have any safe income, but it has $383,333 of RDTOH. Opco pays a $1 million dividend to Holdco, which pays a $1 million dividend to its…
You’d better calculate safe income
The CRA appeared unsympathetic to the idea that detailed calculations of safe income might not be necessary where Opco is wholly-owned by Holdco, and Opco accounting income does not differ greatly from its taxable income. The CRA representative spoke darkly…
Discretionary dividend shares
Suppose shareholders of Opco hold different classes of common shares on which dividends can be paid at the discretion of the board so that one class can receives dividends to the exclusion of other classes. All common shares participate pro…
Trust that avoids 21-year rule subject to GAAR
An inter vivos trust is approaching its 21-year anniversary. Before the anniversary, the trust distributes property under 107(2) to Canco, a corporate beneficiary, which is wholly-owned by another inter vivos trust. The other trust was just formed, and so it…
Real property registry
The Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the “OBCA”) is being amended effective December 10, 2016, to require a corporation incorporated or continued under the OBCA to maintain a “register of ownership interests in land in Ontario”. The register must identify each…
What is a nil assessment?
In Shreedhar v R, 2016 TCC 254, the Crown brought a motion to strike an informal procedure appeal. The Crown claimed that the taxpayer was attempting to appeal from a nil assessment. The Court disagreed because, while the assessment had…
Farm quota as 14.1 Property
CRA technical interpretation 2016-0660861E5 dated September 27, 2016, provides a handy summary of how the transitional rules will work for milk quota that changes from eligible capital property (ECP) to Class 14.1 depreciable capital property (14.1 property) especially where only some of the quota is sold after 2016.