A-247-93
CORAM: MARCEAU J.A.
DESJARDINS J.A.
CHEVALIER D.J.A.
IN RE: The Income Tax Act
BETWEEN:
TRENT VALLEY SAND AND STONE LIMITED,
Appellant
- and -
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
(Delivered from the Bench at Montreal, Quebec,
on Monday, January 27, 1997)
MARCEAU J.A.
We do not need to hear you, Mr. Ghan.
In spite of the able presentation of Mr. Fournier, we are of the view that this appeal cannot succeed.
As we understand the analysis of subsection 31(1) of the Income Tax Act made by Mr. Justice Dickson in the leading Moldowan case,1 once it is established that farming is for the taxpayer a business and not merely a sideline, that the taxpayer is engaged in farming as an activity from which he can derive income and eventually, i.e. within a reasonable period of time, profit, the question of whether farming is, in his case, not only a source of income but a chief source of income either alone or in combination with "some other source" is a question of fact that must be resolved having regard to all surrounding circumstances.
The trial judge, as we read his reasons, did not depart from that premise. Keeping in mind that the taxpayer here is the corporation, the trial judge's finding that farming was in a subordinate position to the appellant's aggregate business with respect to the personnel involved, the time spent, the capital committed, and the profitability both actual and potential, is based on an analysis which in the whole is, in our view, quite sustainable. There is nothing in the learned judge's reasoning to suggest that he misconstrued the evidence or drew from it wrong inferences. There may be something in the "economic reality" argument advanced by counsel for the appellant, but we would need more to be able to convince ourselves that the trial judge's conclusion was not open to him. There is no basis on which to set aside his decision.
The appeal will be dismissed.
"Louis Marceau"
J.A.
A-247-93
CORAM: MARCEAU J.A.
DESJARDINS J.A.
CHEVALIER D.J.A.
IN RE: The Income Tax Act
BETWEEN:
TRENT VALLEY SAND AND STONE LIMITED,
Appellant
- and -
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
Respondent
Heard at Montreal, Quebec, on Monday, January 27, 1997.
Judgment rendered from the Bench on Monday, January 27, 1997.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT BY: MARCEAU J.A.
IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL
A-247-93
IN RE: The Income Tax Act
BETWEEN:
TRENT VALLEY SAND AND
STONE LIMITED,
Appellant
- and -
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
OF THE COURT
__________________
1 Moldowan v. Q., [1978] 1 S.C.R. 480">[1978] 1 S.C.R. 480.
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