Brandimarte – Federal Court reviews CRA decision to partly waive interest that accrued over 35 years, and rejects comparison to those with complete interest relief

Taxpayers who were the innocent (albeit, perhaps aggressive) victims of a tax fraud, i.e., purported partnerships giving rise to large reported losses in the mid-1980s where, in fact, the partnerships were non-existent, ultimately had their Tax Court actions decided against them in 2014, and sought relief in 2014, or 10 years previously, for accrued interest. A large part of the delay (including CRA not assessing the taxpayers’ returns for quite some time) was attributable to CRA and Justice wanting to bring a criminal prosecution against the promoters before dealing with the taxpayers.

After three levels of review of the requested interest relief, CRA cancelled approximately 15 years and 63 months of accrued interest for the 2004 and 2014 applications, respectively. Boswell J found this decision to be reasonable. The lower relief for the 2014 application properly reflected the application to those applicants of the prohibition after a 2005 amendment to going back more than 10 years with interest relief; and the CRA delays were appropriately weighed against the fact that the applicants had had the ability to have their returns assessed so that they could pay the tax and cut off the interest.

Respecting the taxpayers’ comparison of themselves as the “innocent victims of fraud”, with the “KPMG Untouchables.” who “knowingly participated in a suspect offshore tax scheme,” and “the GLGI cases where taxpayers were granted full interest relief despite their culpability in participating in the tax schemes,” Boswell J stated (at para. 59):

…[C]omparisons to the KPMG Untouchables or the GLGI donors are neither factually relevant nor legally permissible. In Ludco … the Federal Court of Appeal held that evidence about other taxpayers who had benefited from an interest deduction for loans obtained in circumstances identical to those of the appellants was inadmissible… .

Neal Armstrong. Summary of Brandimarte v. Canada, 2019 FC 1034 under s. 220(3.1).