Citation: 2007TCC256
Date: 20070501
Docket: 2006-2043(IT)I
BETWEEN:
MOHAMED A. SALAH,
Appellant,
and
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
Respondent.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
Webb J.
[1] The Appellant was a member of the Board of Directors
of the Maritime Muslim Academy ("Academy") in 2003. He stepped down from
the Board of Directors in 2003 to work on a project for the Academy. The
project included a review of the structure of the Academy with a view to
increasing the enrolment of students. The Academy paid him a total of $20,000
for his work. The Respondent does not dispute that the Appellant was an
independent contractor with respect to this work.
[2] The Appellant did not include the $20,000 in his tax
return for 2003. He indicated that he was traveling overseas in the early part
of 2004 and when he returned he did not have a lot of time to complete his tax
return and he inadvertently omitted this from his return. No expenses had been
claimed in his tax return for 2003 in relation to this project.
[3] The Appellant was reassessed in relation to the
$20,000 amount paid by the Academy and the Appellant filed a Notice of
Objection claiming $7,874.40 in expenses in relation to the project. The
reassessment including the $20,000 in his income was confirmed without any
expenses being allowed. The Appellant has appealed with respect to the claim
for his expenses.
[4] The expenses claimed were summarized in a table
prepared by the Appellant as follows:
|
Expense Item
|
Item Detail
|
Paid Cost
|
Business Share Percentage
|
Business Expense
|
|
Business
Space Rent (One Bedroom Apartment) Business Use 50% of Space
|
Rental Cost
|
$6,000
|
50%
|
$3,550
|
|
Cleaning & maintenance
|
$750
|
|
Electricity
|
$350
|
|
Total Space Cost
|
$7,100
|
|
|
|
Telephone local
|
Business share 60%
|
$350
|
60%
|
$210
|
|
Long
Distance Telephone
|
Business share 80%
|
$700
|
80%
|
$560
|
|
|
|
Automobile
Vehicle Expenses Total kilometers driven 31,000 km Portion used for business
21,700 Percentage business use = 70%
|
Oil & Gas
|
$931
|
70%
|
$2,332.40
|
|
Insurance
|
$700
|
|
License & Registration
|
$140
|
|
Capital
Allowance (depreciation)
|
$750
|
|
Maintenance & repair
|
$811
|
|
Total vehicle
|
$3,332
|
|
|
|
Computer
hardware & software
|
Hardware
|
$650
|
75%
|
$825
|
|
Software
|
$450
|
|
Total computer
|
$1,100
|
|
|
|
Printing, Photocopying, Stationary & Supplies
|
$397
|
100%
|
$397
|
|
|
|
Total Expenses for the year 2003
|
$7,874.40
|
[5] The Appellant did not have any receipts in relation to
any of these items. The Appellant testified that the project began in 2002
although the actual starting date is not clear. The ending date for the project
is also not clear. The Appellant testified that the project lasted for
approximately 14 months but he later testified that it started in mid-November
of 2002 and ended near the end of October 2003. He also testified that he
received approximately $2,500 per month but since the total amount received was
$20,000 this would suggest a project length of 8 months. The Appellant
also testified that following the project he became an employee of the Academy
for the last three months of 2003.
[6] The Appellant stated that the amounts he received from
the Academy were intended to compensate him for his expenses incurred in
completing the project. He was not required to submit any receipts to obtain
payments from the Academy.
[7] The Appellant stated that the principal place where he
conducted his business related to the project was his apartment which is
located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. He also testified that he
completed two trips in 2003 in relation to the project – one to Montreal and
one to Toronto. Each trip lasted approximately
one week. He indicated that when he was traveling he would stay with friends.
[8] It was obvious that the Appellant did incur some
expenses in relation to his business. The issue is the amount of these expenses
that should be allowed.
[9] Since the Appellant’s principal place of business was
his apartment and since the total expenses claimed are less than $20,000, the
limitations in subsection 18(12) of the Income Tax Act ("Act")
are not applicable.
[10] The question in relation to the business space is what
is the reasonable amount in relation to this claim? Pursuant to section 67 of
the Act, a claim for a particular business expense will be
limited to the amount that is reasonable.
[11] The expenses related to the use of his apartment were
based on the annual costs of the items listed. Since the Appellant’s testimony
was inconsistent with respect to the duration of the project, but he was clear
that he worked as an employee of the Academy for the last three months of 2003,
I will allow expenses related to the use of his apartment for 9 months in 2003.
The expenses on an annual basis appear reasonable and therefore the total
amount that will be allowed in relation to the use of his apartment will be 75%
of $3,550 or $2,662.
[12] The amounts claimed for the telephone were based on
estimates of the Appellant. He stated that a greater percentage of the long
distance charges were related to the business. On the basis that the business
was only carried on for 9 months in 2003, 75% of the amounts claimed will
be allowed or $158 for the telephone (local) and $420 for the long distance
charges.
[13] The Appellant testified that he had purchased a 1998
Crown Victoria automobile in 2001 for $7,800 and
that he used this vehicle in carrying on his business in 2003. With respect to
the use of this automobile, the Appellant testified that he travels 12,000 km
per year and that this distance is consistent, year after year, when he was not
carrying on this business. Assuming that the total amount traveled in 2003 was
31,000 km as stated in the table above, and assuming that the business was
carried on for 9 months (and therefore 3,000 km would have been driven during
October to December), the total number of kilometers that would have driven
during the first 9 months of 2003 would have been 28,000. Since 1,000 km per
month are personal, this would leave 19,000 km for business travel during
the first 9 months of 2003 or 68% of the total number of kilometers driven
during this nine month period.
[14] The Appellant used 70% which is reasonable based on the
evidence submitted and the above analysis. The total amounts listed for oil and
gas, insurance, license and registration, and maintenance and repairs appear to
be reasonable amounts. The Appellant testified that these amounts were based on
amounts spent in other years and since the burden of proof is on a balance of
probabilities, I accept that, on the balance of probabilities, these amounts
are reasonable and were incurred by the Appellant, especially since he
completed two lengthy trips by car in 2003. However the amounts for insurance
and registration are not dependent on the number of kilometers driven but are
fixed costs. Therefore only 75% of the amounts claimed for registration and
insurance will be allowed as the business was only carried on for 9 months in
2003.
[15] With respect to the amount claimed for capital cost
allowance (depreciation) since the car was not being used in the business at
the end of 2003, no amount will be allowed for capital cost allowance. A change
in use would have resulted in a deemed disposition of the car pursuant to
subsection 45(1) of the Act prior to the end of 2003. No evidence
was introduced in relation to the fair market value of the automobile when the
business commenced or when the business ceased and therefore no amount will be
allowed as a terminal loss.
[16] The Appellant testified that he acquired the computer
(which was purchased as a used computer) and the software in December of 2002
and when the project was completed he gave these to the Academy, which the
Appellant described as a charity. These items would be capital assets. Since the
computer and the software were given as a gift inter vivos to the
Academy, there would be a deemed disposition of these assets for an amount
equal to their fair market value pursuant to paragraph 69(1)(b) of the Act,
unless the Academy was a registered charity and a lesser amount was designated
under subsection 118.1(6) of the Act.
[17] Since the computer hardware and software were not owned
by the Appellant at the end of 2003, no amount will be allowed as capital cost
allowance in relation to these items and since there was no evidence with
respect to the fair market value of these assets at the time that these assets
were given to the Academy, nor whether the Academy was a registered charity and
if so, whether any amount was designated under subsection 118.1(6) of the Act,
no amount will be allowed as a terminal loss in relation to the disposition of
these assets. It is not known whether the Academy issued a charitable donation
receipt to the Appellant in relation to the donation of the hardware and the
software. No amount was claimed on the Appellant’s 2003 tax return for any
charitable donations but if the Academy is a registered charity, the Appellant
could, if the donation is supported by a receipt, claim the amount donated in
2003 on any tax return of the Appellant for 2003 to 2008 (inclusive).
[18] The Appellant testified that he incurred over $400 in
printing, photocopying, stationary and supplies. The Appellant’s testimony on
this item is accepted and the claim for $397 in relation to these items is
allowed.
[19] As a result the following is a summary of the expenses
that are allowed:
|
Item
|
Amount Claimed
|
Amount Allowed
|
|
Business Space
|
$3,550
|
$2,662
|
|
Local Telephone
|
$210
|
$158
|
|
Long Distance Telephone
|
$560
|
$420
|
|
Oil & Gas
|
$931 x 70% = $652
|
$652
|
|
Insurance
|
$700 x 70% = $490
|
$368
|
|
License & Registration
|
$140 x 70% = $98
|
$74
|
|
CCA (depreciation)
|
$750 x 70% = $525
|
$0
|
|
Maintenance & repair
|
$811 x 70% = $568
|
$568
|
|
Computer hardware & software
|
$825
|
$0
|
|
Printing, photocopying, stationary & supplies
|
$397
|
$397
|
|
|
$7,875
|
$5,299
|
[20] Therefore the
Appellant is entitled to claim expenses in relation to his business in the
total amount of $5,299
for the 2003 taxation year.
Signed at Halifax,
Nova Scotia, this 1st day of May 2007.
"Wyman W. Webb"
Email this Content