8 February 1990 External T.I. 20210 F - Tax Remission

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.

February 8, 1990

Dear 19(1)

Re:  19(1)

We are responding to your letter of November 29, 1989 addressed to Treasury Board of Canada which was referred to us for reply.

24(1)

Generally, a tax remission is a procedure of last resort, not an alternative procedure to the normal channels, such as the appeal process, for the solution of tax problems.

As regards the remission procedure itself, you may wish to know that guidelines have been established to ensure that cases are fairly and uniformly handled and considered. In order to be favourably considered for tax remission, a case should satisfy one of the following three criteria:

(1)     extreme hardship (Under this guideline the hardship must be of an extreme nature and have existed continuously from the time of occurrence of the event giving rise to the tax for which remission is to be considered to the time of the remission request);

(2)     incorrect departmental action or advice; or

(3)     financial setback. (Under this guideline the setback felt by the denial of remission must be accompanied by some other factor such as conditions beyond the taxpayer's control or results of application of the law clearly not intended.)

Tax remission will generally not be recommended where the taxpayer was the author of his own misfortune through failure to observe the law, to exercise his rights, or following a course of action that was disadvantageous from a tax point of view.

If you have any questions regarding the remission process, please contact Mr. S. Parnanzone at (613) 957-9232.

Yours very truly,

Bernhard BuetowDirectorTechnical Interpretations DivisionLegislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Branch

SP/hm(8-9) COR "A"

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