Docket: 2012-2638(IT)I
BETWEEN:
ARNOLD HOLST,
Appellant,
and
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
Respondent.
____________________________________________________________________
Appeal
heard on common evidence with the appeal of Bernice Hillier (2012-2564(IT)I)
on March 13, 2014 at Hamilton, Ontario
By: The Honourable
Justice Judith Woods
Appearances:
|
For the Appellant:
|
The
Appellant himself
|
|
Counsel for the Respondent:
|
Jan Jensen
|
____________________________________________________________________
JUDGMENT
It is ordered that the
appeal with respect to assessments made under the Income Tax Act for the
2006 and 2008 taxation years is dismissed. The parties shall bear their own
costs.
Signed at Toronto, Ontario this 4th day of April 2014.
“J.M. Woods”
Docket: 2012-2564(IT)I
BETWEEN:
BERNICE HILLIER,
Appellant,
and
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
Respondent.
____________________________________________________________________
Appeal heard on common evidence with the
appeal of Arnold Holst (2012-2683(IT)I) on March 13, 2014 at Hamilton, Ontario
By: The Honourable Justice Judith Woods
Appearances:
|
Agent for the
Appellant:
|
Arnold Holst
|
|
Counsel for the
Respondent:
|
Jan Jensen
|
____________________________________________________________________
JUDGMENT
It is ordered that the
appeal with respect to assessments made under the Income Tax Act for the
2006, 2007 and 2008 taxation years is dismissed. The parties shall bear their
own costs.
Signed at Toronto, Ontario this 4th day of April, 2014.
“J.M. Woods”
Citation: 2014 TCC 104
Date: 20140404
Docket: 2012-2638(IT)I
BETWEEN:
ARNOLD
HOLST,
Appellant,
and
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
Respondent;
Docket: 2012-2564(IT)I
AND BETWEEN:
BERNICE HILLIER,
Appellant,
and
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
Respondent.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
Woods J.
[1]
Arnold Holst and Bernice Hillier
appeal with respect to the disallowance of charitable tax credits for donations
to Israelite Church of Christ Canada (“Israelite”) and Liberty Parish Celestial
Church of Christ (“Celestial”).
[2]
The amounts claimed as donations
by Mr. Holst are $3,730 for the 2006 taxation year and $2,540 for the 2008
taxation year.
[3]
The amounts claimed as donations
by Mrs. Hillier are $2,895 for the 2006 taxation year, $2,766 for the 2007
taxation year, and $2,690 for the 2008 taxation year.
[4]
At the hearing, the Court heard
testimony from Gary Huenemoeder, team leader for the Canada Revenue Agency
(CRA) on an audit of Israelite. He also had knowledge of an investigation of
Celestial. It appears that Israelite is the successor to Celestial and that
they were operated by the same individual.
[5]
According to Mr. Huenemoeder’s
testimony, these audits led to the revocation of the charitable registration of
Israelite and Celestial. This occurred after the periods at issue in these
appeals.
[6]
Mr. Huenemoeder described that
there were many reasons for revoking the charitable status. Essentially, the
CRA was unable to verify the donations for which receipts had been issued due
to very poor record keeping and other problems. He also testified that a tax
return preparer who had been convicted for involvement with false donation
receipts was in possession of pre-signed receipts from Celestial. Further,
Israelite had told the CRA that it had shipped goods to Nigeria, but the CRA determined that the receipts for those goods were forgeries.
[7]
According to Mr. Holst’s
testimony, he and Mrs. Hillier attended church at Celestial and Israelite which
he believed to be the same church. He said that they switched to these churches
from the Salvation Army at the suggestion of a neighbour so that they could
receive tax receipts for work that Mr. Holst did for the church and for amounts
that he donated in cash and goods.
[8]
The problem that the appellants
have in these appeals is that they are not able to provide any evidence at all
as to specific amounts that were donated. The appellants acknowledge that the
donation information provided by the churches to support their tax credit
claims is not accurate.
[9]
I accept that Mr. Holst and Ms.
Hillier attended church services at Israelite and Celestial and that some
donations were made. However, the appeals must be dismissed because the
appellants did not provide adequate evidence of the amounts that were donated.
[10]
Mr. Holst argued that it would be
unfair to penalize he and Ms. Hillier for the illegal conduct of others. It is
unfortunate if the appellants put their trust in these churches, but I would
note that it appears that they claimed significantly more as donations in their
income tax returns than they actually made. Taxpayers must ensure that their
income tax returns are accurate, and the appellants bear responsibility for
failing to do so in this case.
[11]
I would also note that the notices
of appeal filed by the appellants continued to claim for false donations. The
following is a quote from the notice of appeal of Mr. Holst.
[…] My donations were
made in good faith to support the cause of the organization which I truly
belief in. […] It appears that CRA is engaged in a fishing expedition and
unjustifiably punishing donors that gave in good faith.
[12]
Further, it was only during
argument at the hearing that Mr. Holst acknowledged that the donation
information provided by the churches was false.
[13]
In light of my conclusion that the
amount of the donations has not been proven, it is not necessary that I
consider the respondent’s other argument concerning deficiencies with the
donation receipts.
[14]
The appeals will be dismissed.
Signed at Toronto, Ontario this 4th day of April, 2014.
“J.M. Woods”
CITATION: 2014 TCC 104
COURT FILE NOS.: 2012-2638(IT)I
2012-2564(IT)I
STYLES OF CAUSE: ARNOLD HOLST v. HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN and BERNICE HILLIER v. HER
MAJESTY THE QUEEN
PLACE OF HEARING: Hamilton, Ontario
DATE OF HEARING: March 13, 2014
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT BY: The
Honourable Justice Judith Woods
DATE OF JUDGMENTS: April 4, 2014
APPEARANCES:
|
For the
Appellants:
|
Arnold Holst
|
|
Counsel for the
Respondent:
|
Jan Jensen
|
COUNSEL OF RECORD:
For the Appellant:
Name:
Firm:
For the Respondent: William
F. Pentney
Deputy
Attorney General of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Email this Content