18 October 1988 Income Tax Severed Letter 8-0213 - [Clergyman's Residence Deduction]

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.

OCT 18 1988

J.A. Szesyski 957-2130

SUBJECT: Clergyman's Residence Deduction XXXX

This is in response to your referral of August 16, 1988 requesting confirmation of the rationale behind the determination made sometime in the past that the XXXX is not considered a religious order for the purposes of the paragraph 8(1)(c) deduction.

As indicated to you by telephone we were unable to locate any record under our jurisdiction of our involvement in a determination previously made in respect of XXXX. Consequently we requested that additional information be provided by XXXX so that we could take a fresh look at the organization for the purposes of confirming or varying the previous determination. Such documents were provided and consequently the comments which follow are based on an appraisal of this recent evidence.

While it is not clear precisely when the previous determination was made, it was consistent with the general view of that time that bible colleges and other religious educational institutions, such as XXXX whose primary function was seen as not to preach the gospel or establish churches or missions but rather to provide knowledge, skills and religious motivation, would not generally be considered religious orders.

The Department's current position is based on the view that in any determination one must look beyond the educational institution itself and examine the nature of the organization, the group of individuals who operate the college or institution. Such a review was made with respect to XXXX and we wish to confirm that, in our view, the organization known as the XXXX continues not to be considered a religious order.

A religious order is defined in the multi-volume Oxford Dictionary as "a body or society or persons living by common consent under the same religious, moral or social regulations and discipline...". The documents provided by XXXX contain no evidence of religious, moral or social regulations to which members must strictly adhere to or the enforcement provisions that constitute discipline. The application for membership requires that the candidate subscribe to the "Basis and Educational Creed of the Association". This affirmation does not in our view constitute religious, moral or social regulations. A common belief or creed and the establishment of an institution for the purpose of conveying that creed is not sufficient to constitute a religious order as contemplated by the provisions of paragraph 8(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act. The stated "Objects and Purposes" of XXXX provide further indication that its primary purpose is to establish a centre of post-secondary education and research rather than a means of propagating a specific gospel by training members for a ministry.

We hope the foregoing has provided some rationale as to why XXXX is not considered to be a religious order.

ORIGINAL SIGNED BY

R.J.L. Read

R.J.L. Read Director General Specialty Rulings Directorate Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Branch