Income Tax Severed Letters - 2020-06-17

Technical Interpretation - External

15 June 2020 External T.I. 2020-0850981E5 - CECRA – Pension plan eligibility

Unedited CRA Tags
149(1)(o), 149(1)(o.1), 149(1)(o.2), ITR 8502(i)
CECRA loans give rise to income from real property and thus are not a disqualified borrowing
CECRA loans do not lead to deregistration of an RPP

Principal Issues: 1. Is participation in the CECRA by a pension real estate corporation a borrowing permitted by clause 149(1)(o.2)(ii)(C)? 2. Can registered pension plans that own real estate directly participate in the CECRA?

Position: 1. Yes. 2. Yes.

Reasons: 1. The forgivable loan would be money borrowed for the purpose of earning income from real property. 2. Although the forgivable loan would contravene the narrower borrowing restriction in paragraph 8502(i), the CRA will exercise its discretion to not revoke the registration of an RPP for failure to comply with this condition.

3 June 2020 External T.I. 2020-0846831E5 - CEWS - Public institution

Unedited CRA Tags
149(1)(a), 149(1)(b), 149(1)(c), 149(1)(d) to (d.6), 149(1.1), 125.7(1), 125.7(2)
ruling not provided on public institution exclusion/general discussion
public bodies performing a function of government are entities that are functionally like municipalities

Principal Issues: Is the Entity eligible for the CEWS?

Position: Question of fact.

Reasons: It depends if it is a public institution or not. General comments are provided to help determine if the Entity is a public institution or not.

2 June 2020 External T.I. 2020-0847081E5 F - Compte de frais médicaux – période de report

Unedited CRA Tags
6(1)a), 248(1) - RPAM
during COVID-19, unused HCSA credits can be carried forward for up to an additional 6 months

Principales Questions: Est-ce que l'ARC envisage de prolonger la période de report de 12 mois prévue au paragraphe 16 du bulletin d'interprétation IT-529 pour tenir compte des circonstances exceptionnelles liées à la pandémie de la COVID-19? / Is CRA looking to extend the carry forward period of 12 months mentioned in paragraph 16 of IT-529 because of the exceptional circumstances related to COVID-19 pandemic?

Position Adoptée: Un prolongement raisonnable pourrait être envisagé dans certaines circonstances. / A reasonable extension might be possible in certain circumstances.

Raisons: En raison de la pandémie de la COVID-19, les bénéficiaires d'un compte de frais médicaux ne peuvent pas utiliser celui-ci à leur discrétion. Pour tenir compte de cela, un report du solde de crédits inutilisés pour une période maximale de 6 mois pourrait être envisagé dans certains cas. / Due to COVID-19 pandemic, beneficiaries of HCSA cannot use their credit at their full discretion. For this reason, a carry forward of the balance of unused credit for a period of up to 6 months could be possible in specific situations.

Technical Interpretation - Internal

3 July 2019 Internal T.I. 2019-0791521I7 - Tuition tax credit - University outside Canada

Unedited CRA Tags
118.5(1)(b)(i)

Principal Issues: What is CRA’s interpretation of paragraph 118.5(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act, in light of the Tax Court of Canada’s decision in Fortnum v. The Queen, 2018 TCC 126, heard under the informal procedure?

Position: CRA’s interpretation of subparagraph 118.5(1)(b)(i), as explained in paragraph 2.10 of Income Tax Folio S1-F2-C2, Tuition Tax Credit, has generally not changed as a result of the Tax Court of Canada's decision in Fortnum. Notwithstanding this, the CRA will consider a course of less than 3 consecutive weeks duration to satisfy the requirement in subparagraph 118.5(1)(b)(i) in situations factually similar to Fortnum.

Reasons: This case was heard by the Tax Court of Canada under the Informal Procedure. Section 18.28 of the Tax Court of Canada Act provides that decisions rendered as a result of this procedure do not have precedential value.