Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.
Principal Issues: The correspondent urged the Minister to re-consider the allegations of fishers that they improperly paid tax on the payments received from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans under the Atlantic Groundfish Licence Retirement Program.
Position: The correspondent was advised that the Tax Court of Canada has confirmed that the payments were taxable.
July 22, 2008
XXXXXXXXXX
Dear XXXXXXXXXX :
The office of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, forwarded to me a copy of your correspondence concerning the taxable treatment of payments received from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans under the Atlantic Groundfish Licence Retirement Program.
I understand the complexities faced by many regarding taxation under the 1999 Program. In 2000, the Minister of Finance at the time presented two amendments to the taxation of capital gains, which resulted in three different capital gains rates for that year. Through consultations with my colleagues from Newfoundland and Labrador, I understand that some recipients of the payments are of the view that income tax was incorrectly or improperly applied on the payments received from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in respect of the licences. There have also been numerous assertions reported in the media that many fishers paid no tax on their payments. I can assure you that this is not the case.
While I can appreciate your preference to minimize taxes, I must advise that the Tax Court of Canada has rendered its decision on the tax treatment of such payments in a case called "Ross Winsor v. Her Majesty the Queen." In the Winsor case, the Tax Court determined that the payments are, in fact, taxable under the provisions of the Income Tax Act. That decision applies to any pending similar or identical objections related to payments received under the Program. It is apparent that the circumstances you describe are sufficiently similar to those considered in the Winsor case to support the conclusion that tax was properly paid.
I trust that the information provided clarifies the position of the Canada Revenue Agency on this matter.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Gordon O'Connor, P.C., M.P.
Renée Shields
(613) 957-2049
2008-027465
April 22, 2008
All rights reserved. Permission is granted to electronically copy and to print in hard copy for internal use only. No part of this information may be reproduced, modified, transmitted or redistributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system for any purpose other than noted above (including sales), without prior written permission of Canada Revenue Agency, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2008
Tous droits réservés. Il est permis de copier sous forme électronique ou d'imprimer pour un usage interne seulement. Toutefois, il est interdit de reproduire, de modifier, de transmettre ou de redistributer de l'information, sous quelque forme ou par quelque moyen que ce soit, de facon électronique, méchanique, photocopies ou autre, ou par stockage dans des systèmes d'extraction ou pour tout usage autre que ceux susmentionnés (incluant pour fin commerciale), sans l'autorisation écrite préalable de l'Agence du revenu du Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5.
© Sa Majesté la Reine du Chef du Canada, 2008
Email this Content