CRA defines “company,” “publicly traded company,” and “subsidiary” in s. 125.7(2.01)

S. 125.7(2.01) provides a prohibition against the CEWS (wage subsidy) being paid “to a qualifying entity that is a publicly traded company or a subsidiary of such a company if, in the qualifying period, it paid taxable dividends to an individual who is a holder of common shares of the company or of the subsidiary of the company.” CRA indicated:

• “Taxable dividends” include taxable dividends that are deemed dividends.
• “Common share” has its somewhat technical meaning in s. 248(1) rather than its ordinary meaning.
• A “publicly traded company” is “a company the shares … of which are listed or traded on a stock exchange or other public market” and “would include [such] a non-resident company.”
• Although the term “company” is “potentially more inclusive than the term corporation,” it is considered to refer to a corporation (and would not include a partnership or trust), given inter alia the references in s. 125.7(2.01) to “taxable dividends” and “common shares.”
• CRA “would consider a subsidiary of a publicly traded company to be a corporation over which the publicly traded corporation exercises de jure control either directly or indirectly.”

Neal Armstrong. Summary of 22 February 2022 External T.I. 2022-0922921E5 under s. 125.7(2.01).