17 May 2012 IFA Roundtable Q. 8, 2012-0444121C6 - 2012 IFA Seminar - Q.8 Forms T1134A and T1134B

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: Discussion of status of revisions to T1134 forms and plans for electronic filing for those forms.

Position: Comments provided by ILBD.

Reasons: See response.

International Fiscal Association (IFA) Conference
Canada Revenue Agency Roundtable
May 17, 2012

Question

Status of revised 1134 a and b forms? Is there a plan to allow electronic filing of 1134 forms?

Response from ILBD

Status of revised T1134A and B forms

Forms T1134A and B have been reviewed by external and internal stakeholders. These forms are in the final stages and have been forwarded to our publishing area.

In order to simplify the reporting process, these forms have been combined and restructured into:

• a summary return for the reporting entity, which captures tombstone and summary information only once, regardless of the number of foreign affiliates;
• separate supplements for each foreign affiliate to capture the remaining information
• Revisions to information previously required on these forms include:
  • • The filing thresholds remain unchanged however the meaning of the term "gross receipts" has been clarified to include all receipts (such as loans), not just income amounts.
  • • Links to the official list of NAICS codes on the Statistics Canada website and to the T4061 guide on NR4 for the list of country codes. This eliminates the additional pages on the form.
  • • An area was added to capture the elected functional currency, if any.
  • • Actual amounts for the foreign affiliate's gross revenue are required instead of selecting a set revenue range.
  • • Previously, an organizational chart was requested as an attachment however information on group structure is now required in a structured format similar to T2 Schedule 9. This will facilitate future electronic capture of information.
  • • Modifications were made to reflect legislative changes to section 95 of the Income Tax Act.

Plans for electronic filing

The International Tax Division of the CRA participates in the International Tax Data Working Group, which reports to the Assistant Commissioner of the Strategies and Integration Branch of the CRA and the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Tax Policy Branch of the Department of Finance. The mandate of this working group is to examine and recommend ways to improve the reliability and utility of data obtained from international tax forms, taking into account the recommendations of the Subcommittee on International Tax Forms (established under the Advisory Panel on Canada's System of International Taxation). E-filing of foreign reporting forms is an avenue currently being studied by the working group. Although the CRA recognized the importance of e-filing from an efficiency and quality perspective, the Agency is currently ensuring that all their forms are available in alternate formats to comply with the Federal Court decision in the Jodhan case. We are, however, continuing to study ways to allow these forms to be captured electronically in a cost effective and accessible format.

Michel Gauthier
2012-044412
May 17, 2012