Taylor,
TCJ:—This
is
an
appeal
heard
in
Toronto,
Ontario,
on
September
17,
1984
against
an
income
tax
assessment
for
the
year
1980
in
which
the
Minister
of
National
Revenue
had
included
as
income
of
that
year
the
proceeds
of
a
Registered
Retirement
Savings
Plan
(RRSP)
amounting
to
$4,431.94,
rather
than
including
the
amount
as
income
of
the
year
1981
as
asserted
by
the
appellant.
Both
parties
relied
upon
the
provisions
of
paragraph
146(l)(b),
and
subsection
146(8)
of
the
Act,
SC
1970-71-72,
c
63,
as
amended
(“the
Act”).
The
Minister’s
position
was
that
the
RRSP
had
been
terminated
and
the
amount
received
in
1980.
The
taxpayer,
a
lawyer,
testified
that
although
she
had
made
application
for
such
termination
on
December
30,
1980,
she
had
not
received
the
amount
until
midJanuary
1981.
There
was
one
document
presented
to
the
Court
from
Canada
Trust,
(the
RRSP
Trustee),
which
indicated
that
in
the
records
of
that
company,
the
plan
had
been
terminated
on
December
31,
1980.
In
addition
the
T-4
RRSP
form
supplied
by
Canada
Trust
to
the
appellant
referencing
the
amount
at
issue
was
designated
as
for
1980.
The
Minister
relied
heavily
on
these
two
factors
—
the
letter
from
Canada
Trust
indicating
its
treatment
of
the
“termination”
date,
and
the
issuance
of
the
T-4
RRSP
for
the
year
1980.
In
my
view
they
are
not
determinative
of
the
issue.
It
should
be
noted
that
there
was
only
the
testimony
of
the
appellant
to
support
her
view
that
she
“received”
the
funds
in
January
1981,
and
that
the
funds
had
been
deposited
directly
in
her
savings
bank
account.
I
am
prepared
to
accept
those
assertions
by
the
appellant,
since
they
appear
quite
reasonable
to
me,
and
in
fact
I
doubt
there
would
be
any
prospect
of
the
funds
being
available
to
the
appellant
almost
immediately
on
“termination”
—
December
31,
1980.
Ultimately,
therefore,
there
are
two
questions
in
this
appeal.
First,
whether
that
which
the
appellant
called
“the
application
for
termination”,
is
in
fact
“termination”
of
the
RRSP
—
December
31,
1980;
and
if
so,
secondly,
whether
that
“termination”
represents
“receipt”
under
the
Act.
I
am
satisfied
that
the
appellant
cannot
make
the
fine
distinction
she
would
like
between
“application
for
termination”,
and
“termination”
itself.
For
purposes
of
this
judgment
the
date
of
termination
is
regarded
as
December
31,
1980.
The
relevant
portions
from
the
Act
then
are:
146(l)(b)
—
“benefit”
includes
any
amount
received
out
of
or
under
a
retirement
savings
plan
.
.
.
—
and
.
.
.
paid
to
an
annuitant
.
.
.
(vi)
resulting
from
the
termination
of
the
plan.
(Emphasis
mine)
146(8)
—
There
shall
be
included
in
computing
the
income
of
a
taxpayer
for
a
taxation
year
all
amounts
received
by
him
in
the
year
as
a
benefit
out
of
or
under
a
registered
retirement
savings
plan,
other
than
an
amount
that
is
included
in
computing
his
income
pursuant
to
paragraph
(12)(b).
(Emphasis
mine)
It
would
appear
to
me
that
the
Minister’s
position
in
this
matter
comes
down
to
a
view
that
the
taxpayer
had
received
the
“benefit”
on
termination,
and
was
therefore
taxable
at
the
date
of
termination.
As
I
see
it,
it
was
necessary
for
the
taxpayer
to
receive
an
amount
(“any
amount”
—
146(l)(b),
“‘all
amounts”
—
146(8))
before
that
benefit
becomes
taxable.
The
amount
at
issue
in
this
appeal
was
received
in
the
taxpayer’s
1981
taxation
year,
and
is
accordingly
taxable
in
that
year.
The
appeal
is
allowed
and
the
matter
referred
back
to
the
respondent
for
reconsideration
and
reassessment.
Appeal
allowed.
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