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.
| 19(1) |
File No. 5-8158 |
| |
K.B. Harding |
| |
(613) 957-2129 |
June 26, 1989
Dear Sirs:
This is in reply to your letter of May 26, 1989 concerning the obligation to withhold tax on payments made to non-residents in respect of a copyright and in respect of the production or reproduction of computer programs prior to June 8, 1988.
Generally speaking, a Bill enters into force on the date it receives Royal Assent unless the entry into force article states otherwise. Except for those sections set out in Section 26 of Bill C-60 which were to enter into force on a day fixed by proclamation, the remainder of Bill C-60 entered into force on June 8, 1988, the date it received Royal Assent. Accordingly, since the term "literary work" was amended in Bill C-60 to include computer programs effective June 8, 1988, subparagraph 212(1)(d)(vi) of the Income Tax Act (the Act) would exempt payments made to non- residents in respect of copyright in respect of the production or reproduction of computer programs only from that date forward.
In our opinion, the purpose of the transitional rule in section 22 of Bill C-60 was to ensure that computer programs in existence on May 27, 1987, the date the bill was submitted to Parliament, and those created after May 27, 1987, but prior to the date Bill C-60 entered into force, would have the protection of the Copyright Act so that any infringement of such programs between May 27, 1987 and the date Bill C-60 entered into force would be subject to the full remedies provided in the Copyright Act. In our view, for the purposes of paragraph 212(1)(d) of the Act, computer programs are not subject to copyright until June 8, 1988.
We trust these comments are adequate for your purposes.
Yours truly,
for DirectorReorganizations and Non-Resident DivisionSpecialty Rulings DirectorateLegislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Branch
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© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 1989
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© Sa Majesté la Reine du Chef du Canada, 1989
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