Date: 19980403
Docket: 97-350-IT-I
BETWEEN:
GERRY PLANT,
Appellant,
and
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
Respondent.
Reasons for Judgment
(Delivered orally from the Bench at Toronto, Ontario on
February 25, 1998)
O'Connor, J.T.C.C.
[1] In this appeal the Minister of National Revenue assessed
the Appellant for the 1994 taxation year, Notice of Assessment
thereof having been mailed on December 11, 1995. In that
assessment, the Minister included the amount of $22,165 received
under the Canada Pension Plan for disability benefits.
[2] The Appellant points out that this amount of $22,165 in
effect applies not only to 1994, but to the three previous years,
and he argues that the amount should have been prorated over all
of the years in question rather than being included in one
year.
[3] I examined the Minister's assessment. Section 56(1) of
the Income Tax Act requires the taxpayer to include in
income his benefits under the Canada Pension Plan Act.
Section 120.3 of the Act requires the taxpayer to include
amounts related to the previous taxation years. However, Section
56(8) of the Act provides as follows, or provides in
essence, as follows:
Where an amount received by a person in the taxation year as a
disability pension under the Canada Pension and a portion of the
total of those amounts relates to one or more preceding taxation
years, that portion related to previous years shall, at the
option of the taxpayer, not be included in his income.
[4] Now, I've examined very carefully the Notice of
Assessment in question and it is worth quoting from it to enable
a better understanding of how the assessment was made. It states,
and it's addressed to Mr. Plant:
You received a Canada Pension Plan lump sum disability
payment. This payment was to compensate you for CPP, disability
benefits you did not receive earlier. Since you received the
payment for this reason, it is eligible for a special tax
calculation which benefits you. We have reduced your 1994 income
by $15,179, which is the amount of the payment that applies to
previous years. We have calculated the tax on this amount as if
you received payments in the years to which they apply. We have
added the tax which is $1,531.00 to your total payable. Our
adjustments have reduced the amount of tax you have to pay on
this amount.
And if you look at the actual figures in the Notice of
Assessment, everything that is stated there is true and is a
proper application of Section 56(8) of the Income Tax
Act.
[5] Consequently the assessment is correct and the appeal is
dismissed. I would add, however, that this taxpayer has certainly
had an ongoing feud with not only the Minister of Revenue, but
with other government offices. Considering all the factors of
this case, I would strongly recommend that the Minister apply the
Fairness Package and eliminate any interest on the
assessment.
[6] It is very clear also from Mr. Plant's evidence that
he believes certain credits and refunds to which he was entitled
for the years 1991 and following have not been properly credited
to him in the assessment. Once again, I would strongly recommend,
and I mentioned this to counsel for the Minister, that a complete
statement of account covering all the years in question, i.e.
1991 to 1994, be supplied to the Appellant, and hopefully this
can be done as soon as possible, and perhaps the bottom line of
who owes what to whom can be determined. I thank you both.
Signed at Ottawa, Canada this 3rd day of April 1998.
"T.P. O'Connor"
J.T.C.C.
Email this Content