21 December 1995 Internal T.I. 9529967 - medical expense tax credit - trailer for scooter

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.

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Department.

Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle du ministère.

Principal Issues:

whether the cost of a trailer, custom built to transport a scooter for the benefit of a spouse who suffers from multiple sclerosis, qualifies for the medical expense tax credit.

Position:

Yes.

Reasons:

The scooter itself would qualify under the circumstances as a wheelchair for purposes of paragraph 118.2(2)(i) of the Act. The trailer would be considered a device acquired in respect of the wheelchair and thus also qualify under the same provision.

		December 21, 1995

	Saskatoon Tax Services	HEADQUARTERS
	Client Services Division	J.A. Szeszycki
	Angela Pedley			(613) 957-8953
		952996

Medical Expense Tax Credit - Scooter Carrier

This is in reply to your memorandum of November 14, 1995 in which you requested that we review the submission from XXXXXXXXXX concerning the eligibility of the cost of building a trailer in computing the medical expense tax credit under section 118.2 of the Income Tax Act (the Act). Included with the taxpayer's submission were two photographs of the trailer. These photographs are being returned herewith, as requested by the taxpayer.

The trailer can be described as a covered carrier, designed to be hitched to the back of a motorcycle, and built for the express purpose of transporting a "scooter" that is used by the taxpayer's spouse who suffers from multiple sclerosis. As illustrated in the photographs, the trailer's size is limited to that required to accommodate the scooter.

It is relevant to note that the scooter, itself, has been considered as a "wheel chair" for the purpose of the tax credit in circumstances where it is acquired in place of the more conventional type that we are all familiar with. In other words, the scooter is a device that is described in paragraph 118.2(2)(i) of the Act.

You have asked whether the trailer is a device described under paragraph 5700(m) of the Income Tax Regulation (the Regulations). Paragraph 5700(m) of the Regulations reads as follows:

"power-operated lift or transportation equipment designed exclusively for use by, or for, a disabled individual to allow the individual access to different areas of a building or to assist the individual to gain access to a vehicle or to place the individual's wheelchair in or on a vehicle"

The wording of the provision clearly sets out a purpose test for the device or equipment. The device or equipment in question must be one that is designed exclusively to either assist the individual to gain access to a vehicle or to allow the individual to place his or her wheelchair in or on a vehicle. The trailer may indeed fall within the broad meaning of "transportation equipment" but it would not appear to meet the purpose test just described. It is our view, therefore, that the trailer is not described in paragraph 5700(m) of the Regulations.

Since the trailer was designed and constructed by the taxpayer for the primary, if not sole, purpose of transporting the scooter which, as noted earlier, normally qualifies as medical equipment, we examined the wording of paragraph 118.2(2)(i) of the Act. This paragraph provides, in part, that amounts paid:

"for or in respect of a....wheel chair....for the patient"

The question arises whether the trailer, and the cost of its construction, can be considered as being "in respect of" the wheelchair (scooter). The term "in respect of" is one that has been examined in depth by the courts in such landmark cases as the Queen v. Savage 83 DTC 5409 and Nowegijick v. the Queen 83 DTC 5041. In those cases, it was the conclusion of the court that the term should be given the widest possible scope, attaching meanings such as "in relation to", "with reference to" and "in connection with". In their application to this case and the costs associated with the construction of the trailer by the patient's spouse for the specific purpose of transporting the "wheel chair" to locations where it will be needed for the benefit of the patient, it may be reasonably argued that the trailer is a device the existence of which is "in relation to", in connection with" and "with reference to" the wheel chair.

It is our view, therefore, that the costs related to construction of the trailer, in this case, would be eligible for inclusion in the computation of the medical expense tax credit.

P.D. Fuoco
Section Chief
Personal and General Section
Business and General Division
Income Tax Rulings and
Interpretations Directorate
Policy and Legislation Branch