CRA indicates that, in the COVID context, companies without Treaty protection should demonstrate that board meeting locations were not manipulative

The CRA's COVID Guidance on international transactions indicates that it will consider administrative relief for non-resident entities which are resident in non-Treaty countries “on a case-by-case basis”. When asked to elaborate, CRA indicated that it avoided bright-line tests in order to avoid accommodating tax avoidance techniques but that, broadly speaking, taxpayers should be prepared to illustrate how the location and timing of the board meetings were necessary from a business corporate governance perspective and not intended to exploit the relief in the Guidance for tax avoidance purposes.

Neal Armstrong. Summary of 2020 IFA-YIN Seminar on COVID-19 Guidelines, Q.9 under s. 2(1).