…a bare trustee is not seen as carrying on any commercial activity with respect to the trust property, and thus is not eligible to register….
A bare trustee who was named as the operator of a joint venture but whose only responsibility was to hold legal title to the trust/joint venture property would not be engaged in a commercial activity. A joint venture election in such a case would not be a valid election. The participants in the joint venture could be liable for penalties and interest if a re-apportionment of tax collected and input tax credits showed there was net tax owing on prior returns.
