Words and Phrases - "infirmity"
GST/HST Memorandum 21-3 Respite Care Services January 2019
Lodging can be provided
2. An exempt supply of a service of providing care and supervision to an individual with limited physical or mental capacity for self-supervision and self-care due to an infirmity or disability can include lodging at an establishment of the supplier.
Meaning of limited physical or mental capacity for self-supervision and self-care due to an infirmity or disability
3. An individual with limited physical or mental capacity for self-supervision and self-care is an individual who, because of their physical or mental health care needs (for example, chronic diseases or functional disabilities), does not have the ability to independently take care of themselves. The reference to self-care must be read together with self-supervision since an individual’s capacity for self-care is influenced by their capacity for self-supervision. For example, the fact that an individual requires assistance with meal preparation and basic activities of daily living alone is not indicative of the individual having limited physical or mental capacity for self-supervision and self-care.
4. The term infirmity is generally understood to mean physical weakness, especially due to age or disease.
5. For purposes of the GST/HST, disability generally refers to a long-term impairment that restricts an individual in carrying out their activities of daily living. The individual’s disability may be congenital or the result of an injury, a neuromuscular disorder (such as muscular dystrophy or multiple sclerosis), or another condition (such as cerebral palsy, paraplegia, amputation, pulmonary disease, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, or a back disorder).
Supply of a service rendered principally at an establishment of the supplier
6. A supply of a service of providing care and supervision to individuals with limited physical or mental capacity for self-supervision and self-care due to an infirmity or disability must be rendered principally at an establishment of the supplier … . [P]rincipally means primarily. The CRA has defined primarily to mean more than 50%.
7. … The following factors … may be used to determine whether a premises is an establishment of a supplier:
- who has authority over making operational decisions in the establishment
- who has control of day-to-day operations of the establishment
- who has presence in the establishment
- the types of activities and routine carried on in the establishment …
Example 3: attendance of such an individual at a day program of ABC
… In addition to rendering care and supervision at its establishment Monday to Friday from 9 am to 3 pm, ABC includes day trips twice weekly to places such as museums, bowling alleys, and movie theatres. Since the service of providing care and supervision is rendered principally at ABC’s establishment, the supply made by ABC is an exempt supply under section 3 … .
Example 7: application of single-supply doctrine to care at establishment
A person operates an establishment where individuals with limited physical or mental capacity for self-supervision and self-care due to a disability spend each day between 10 am and 4 pm. An agreement is entered into where the person agrees to provide, primarily at the establishment, care, supervision, lunch, art supplies, and transportation to and from different activities. Throughout the day, healthy snacks are offered to the individuals at no extra cost.
… The provision of care and supervision is the dominant element of the supply … [and] the transaction … constitutes a single supply of a service.
The Queen v. Diaz, 81 DTC 5112, [1981] CTC 138 (FCTD)
"[T]he word 'infirmity' implies more than mere retirement age ... [and] must be taken in its general sense, i.e., the state of being of poor or deteriorated vitality." The mother of the taxpayer, who suffered from high blood pressure and whose general physical condition was poor, was "infirm".