Words and Phrases - "gift certificate"
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. The Queen, 2019 TCC 79, aff'd 2021 FCA 96
CIBC was charged by Aeroplan for the number of Aeroplan Miles that were credited to the cards of CIBC cardholders. CIBC argued that these fees were (1) consideration for intangible personal property (the Aeroplan Miles) that were supplied by Aeroplan, and (2) that such IPP was exempted as being a supply of “gift certificates.”
Visser J found that CIBC received a taxable service from Aeroplan, so that it was unnecessary for Visser J to consider the second argument – but he nonetheless did so, and found that the Aeroplan Miles did not qualify as gift certificates, stating (at paras 80, 83):
… Parliament intended a gift certificate to be an equivalent to money, and to have attributes similar to money. Therefore in my view, a gift certificate must have a stated monetary value expressed on its face physically or retrievable electronically. …
… Aeroplan Miles … fatally, they do not have a stated monetary value. While Aeroplan Miles no doubt have value to an Aeroplan member, and that value can be determined pursuant to a valuation, that is not equivalent to having a stated monetary value on their face or retrievable electronically.
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Excise Tax Act - Section 123 - Subsection 123(1) - Supply | Aeroplan points program occurred as single supply | 264 |
| Tax Topics - Excise Tax Act - Section 123 - Subsection 123(1) - Service | Aeroplan Miles were supplied by Aeroplan to CIBC as a taxable service | 376 |
| Tax Topics - Excise Tax Act - Section 138 | supply of Aeroplan Miles was ancillary to promotional services | 370 |