Translation disclaimer
This translation was prepared by Tax Interpretations Inc. The CRA did not issue this document in the language in which it now appears, and is not responsible for any errors in its translation that might impact a reader’s understanding of it or the position(s) taken therein. See also the general Disclaimer below.
Principal Issues: When is the Crédit d’impôt favorisant la synergie entre les entreprises québécoises taken into account for the purposes of the ITA.
Position: Where all the conditions for its receipt are met, at the time the tax credit is applied against tax payable.
Reasons: The law and previous positions.
FEDERAL TAX ROUNDTABLE, NOVEMBER 2, 2023
APFF CONFERENCE 2023
11. Taxation of non-refundable tax credits
Generally, a taxpayer must include in computing income any incentive payment or other assistance received from a government while earning income from a business or property. Tax credits offered to businesses by a federal or provincial government are generally taxable as such. Generally speaking, and subject to the specific exceptions provided for in the Income Tax Act, the following rules apply to the taxation of credits:
- If the credit is granted in respect of an expense of a current nature, the credit must be included in the taxpayer's income at the time it is received (paragraph 12(1)(x));
- If the credit is granted in respect of a property or for the acquisition of a capital property, the amount of the credit that the taxpayer received or was entitled to receive before that time reduces the capital cost of the property (subsection 13(7.1)) or its ACB in the case of non-depreciable property (paragraph 53(2)(k)).
According to Income Tax Technical News No. 29 (footnote 1), the CRA generally considers that a tax credit that is not applied against the taxpayer's instalments is received at the earliest of the following times:
- At the time it reduces the tax payable for a taxation year;
- At the time it is paid, if it makes it possible to obtain or increase a tax refund.
In Interpretation Letter 22-060083-001 (footnote 2) on the tax treatment of the tax credit to promote synergy among Quebec businesses ("CSEQ") provided for in sections 776.1.38 et seq. of the Taxation Act, (footnote 3) the Quebec Revenue Agency ("QRA") states the following: [TaxInterpretations translation]
"[W]hen, pursuant to section 776.1.38 of the T.A., an eligible investor attaches to its tax return that it must file for a taxation year the prescribed form to claim an CSEQ amount, and the amount of this tax credit is less than the balance of tax payable for the taxation year, we consider that the tax credit is received or is entitled to be received on the due date of the balance applicable to it for that taxation year.
For a particular taxation year, the amount that can be deducted as CSEQ cannot exceed the tax that would otherwise be payable by the qualified investor for the taxation year. The unused portion of an eligible investor's CSEQ for a given taxation year is therefore the amount by which the maximum amount that the qualified investor could deduct as a CSEQ for the taxation year exceeds the tax that would otherwise be payable by the qualified investor for the taxation year.
The unused portion of an eligible investor's CSEQ for a given taxation year is therefore the amount by which the maximum amount that the qualified investor could deduct as a CSEQ for the taxation year exceeds the tax that would otherwise be payable by the qualified investor for the taxation year. This unused portion of the tax credit may be carried forward to the 20 taxation years following the particular year and to the three years preceding it, in accordance with the provisions of section 776.1.39 of the Act. We consider that the qualified investor will be entitled to receive this unused portion when the qualified investor applies for a carryover to a taxation year on the date the application for carryover is filed.”
[TaxInterpretations translation]
Question to CRA
In general, does the CRA agree with the ARQ's position on the taxation of the CSEQ, namely that:
- If this tax credit is less than the balance of tax payable for the taxation year, it is received or is entitled to be received on the due date of the balance applicable to the taxpayer for that taxation year;
- If this tax credit is carried back or forward to a previous or subsequent year, the taxpayer will be considered to be entitled to receive the amount on the date of filing of the application for the carryover.
CRA Response
Section 776.1.38 of the T.A. provides that a qualified investor for a taxation year that, on or before the day that is twelve months after the qualified investor’s filing-due date for that year, encloses the documents described in the second paragraph of section 776.1.38 of the T.A. (footnote 4) with its tax return that it is required to file for the year, may deduct from its tax payable for that year, determined before the application of that section and the second paragraph of section 776.1.39, an amount equal to 30% of the lesser of $750,000 and the aggregate of all amounts each of which is its eligible investment for the year in a corporation in relation to an authorized investment certificate.
The amount of the CSEQ that a qualified investor may deduct cannot exceed the amount of tax otherwise payable under the Taxation Act. The unused portion of a qualified investor's CSEQ for a taxation year may be carried forward for the 20 taxation years following that taxation year or carried back to the three taxation years preceding the particular year in accordance with section 776.1.39 of the T.A.
Assuming that the shares of the capital stock of a corporation acquired by a qualified investor as part of an eligible investment are capital property to the investor, we are of the view that the tax treatment of the CSEQ granted to the qualified investor for purposes of the Income Tax Act would generally be determined in accordance with paragraph 53(2)(k) of the I.T.A.. This paragraph generally provides that the amount, if any, by which the total of all amounts of government assistance received or receivable by the qualified investor in respect of the property or for its acquisition exceeds the amount, if any, of government assistance repaid by the qualified investor before that time pursuant to an obligation to repay all or any part of that assistance, is to be deducted in respect of the property.
According to the CRA's longstanding position, a tax credit or reduction in the calculation of tax - which is not applied to reduce instalments payable by the taxpayer (footnote 5) - is considered to have been received, where all the conditions for obtaining it have been satisfied, at the earliest of the following times:
- when it reduces the tax payable for a taxation year;
- at the time it is paid if it allows for or increases a tax refund.
In view of the foregoing, where, in accordance with section 776.1.38 of the T.A., a qualified investor attaches the Prescribed Documents to the tax return that must be filed for a taxation year pursuant to section 1000 of the T.A. in order to claim an amount in respect of the CSEQ, and the amount of the tax credit is less than the balance of tax payable for the year, the CRA is of the view that the CSEQ is received or is entitled to be received on the date of filing of the tax return. The deduction provided for in paragraph 53(1)(k) must therefore be made on that date.
Furthermore, like the ARQ, the CRA is of the view that the qualified investor will be entitled to receive the unused portion of the CSEQ, as that term is defined in section 776.1.36 of the T.A., when the qualified investor files a carryover request, on the date the carryover request is filed. Consequently, the deduction provided for in paragraph 53(1)(k) will have to be made on that date.
Robert Duong
November 2, 2023
2023-098362
FOOTNOTES
Note to reader: Because of our system requirements, the footnotes contained in the original document are shown below instead:
1 CANADA REVENUE AGENCY, Income Tax Technical News, No. 29, July 14, 2003.
2 REVENU QUÉBEC, Interpretation Letter 22-060083-001 Tax Credit to Promote Synergy Among Québec Businesses - Eligible Investment - Reduction in the Adjusted Cost Base of Shares - Prescribed Form, August 16, 2022.
3 RLRQ, c. I-3 ("T.A.").
4 The documents concerned are the prescribed form containing the prescribed information; a copy of the authorized investment certificate relating to each of the qualified investor's eligible investment for the year in a corporation; a written confirmation from the authorized representative of the corporation holding the authorized investment certificate specifying the amount received from the qualified investor for the issue of shares of the capital stock of the corporation in relation to the certificate, the issue date of the shares and the portion of the amount of the authorized investment specified in the certificate that was assigned by the corporation to the qualified investor (the "Prescribed Documents").
5 That is, it is credited to the taxpayer's account as an instalment by the tax authority.
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