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Till just lately, I by no means absolutely appreciated the that means behind the excuse, “The canine ate my homework.” That modified this previous summer time with the arrival of Jasper, our new golden retriever pet. Constant along with his breed’s genetic disposition, I observed he was a fast examine when it got here to retrieving the newspaper from the entrance stoop. Sadly, by the point the paper made it inside, it was now not readable as he had shredded it to items.

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I can’t recall a taxpayer ever saying “the canine ate my homework” as a defence in court docket for failing to offer backup documentation that the Canada Income Company was requesting, however among the excuses they provide you with can often pressure credulity. Take two current instances coping with COVID-19 advantages eligibility, and the taxpayers’ unwillingness (or, maybe, lack of ability) to offer the required proof of revenue.

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The primary case, determined in late December 2023, concerned a self-employed taxpayer who utilized for and acquired the Canada Emergency Response Profit (CERB) for the total seven four-week intervals and the Canada Restoration Profit (CRB) for the next 27 two-week intervals. The CRA discovered her ineligible as a result of she had not earned no less than $5,000 of (self-)employment revenue within the prior interval.

The taxpayer had prior work expertise conducting patent agent- and engineering-related work. In 2018, she labored as a patent agent trainee at a nationwide mental property legislation agency. Previous to this, she labored as a patent agent in america.

In December 2019, the taxpayer allegedly acquired a job provide to work remotely as an impartial contractor for {an electrical} tools firm. On this function, she was to offer patent-related recommendation and analysis to her shopper and be paid US$6,200 (or roughly $8,000 on the time). On the taxpayer’s 2020 tax return, she claimed $4,200 for bills regarding the enterprise use of her residence, leading to her 2020 internet self-employed enterprise revenue totalling $3,800. This was beneath the $5,000 revenue eligibility threshold to obtain CERB or CRB.

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After consulting with an accountant, the taxpayer just lately amended her 2020 tax return and adjusted her use-of-home bills all the way down to $2,100 since, in line with her, “she additionally used her work space for examine and leisure time.” After the modification, her self-employment internet enterprise revenue was $5,900.

Her COVID-19 advantages have been chosen for assessment by the CRA, and an agent known as her requesting documentation to confirm her self-employment revenue. She subsequently supplied a single bill and several other letters from the corporate “with restricted element.” After conducting each a first- and second-level assessment, the CRA decided she was not eligible as she hadn’t earned the requisite $5,000 of revenue.

The taxpayer appealed the CRA’s second-level resolution to the Federal Court docket requesting a judicial assessment. The court docket’s function is to not substitute its resolution for that of the CRA officer, however to find out whether or not the CRA’s resolution was “affordable” contemplating the information and proof. An affordable resolution is “one primarily based on an internally coherent and rational chain of research that’s justified, clear and intelligible in relation to the relevant factual and authorized constraints.”

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The choose reviewed all of the proof, together with the CRA’s detailed and complete resolution stories. In these stories, the CRA agent famous the taxpayer had no earlier historical past of incomes self-employment revenue, and supplied no documentation to help that she had truly acquired the US$6,200, or that this quantity was despatched by means of licensed mail.

As well as, the bill submitted to the company by the taxpayer didn’t point out whether or not it had been paid, the kind of cost or the date of cost, and it wasn’t signed by both celebration. The letter settlement was not a proper contract and solely briefly indicated the character of the engagement. However maybe most significantly, all of the paperwork the taxpayer supplied from the company have been created years after she claimed to have been paid the US$6,200, and failed to point the precise date of cost.

The CRA concluded the bill and accompanying letters from the company didn’t represent ample convincing proof of a cost having been made to the taxpayer within the absence of an precise switch or receipt of cash. The choose acknowledged that the taxpayer “is definitely entitled to be remunerated in money,” however it was her duty to take care of ample information with a purpose to depend on money funds to help her eligibility for the CERB or CRB advantages.

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The choose concluded the CRA agent had “meticulously assessed the proof supplied by (the taxpayer) and located it was inadequate to ascertain her eligibility.” The choose, due to this fact, dominated the CRA’s resolution to disclaim the profit was affordable, because it had “all of the requisite attributes of transparency, justification, and intelligibility.”

The second COVID-19 advantages eligibility case, additionally determined in December 2023, was a follow-up resolution of the Federal Court docket involving a self-employed bookkeeper in British Columbia who operates his enterprise by means of numerous corporations. The CRA decided he was not entitled to the CRB on the premise he had not earned no less than $5,000 of (self-)employment revenue. In October 2022, the taxpayer utilized for judicial assessment and succeeded on the premise that the CRA breached “procedural equity” by failing to advise him that it required additional documentation past his T4 and T4A slips.

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The CRA requested the taxpayer’s financial institution statements to confirm his revenue, however the taxpayer refused, saying: “I’m a non-public citizen; I worth my proper to privateness and my civil liberties. I can’t disclose private, personal and confidential info similar to financial institution statements as I worth my proper to privateness and my civil liberties, as a non-public citizen. Personally, I’m not a enterprise. Asking for my private, personal and confidential statements, is a breach of my civil liberty.”

This didn’t go over nicely with the choose, who dismissed the taxpayer’s second request for judicial assessment: “It’s (the taxpayer’s) proper to refuse to offer the requested info; nonetheless, he can’t now criticize that the CRA decided it had inadequate info to help his declare.”

Jamie Golombek, FCPA, FCA, CFP, CLU, TEP, is the managing director, Tax & Property Planning with CIBC Non-public Wealth in Toronto. Jamie.Golombek@cibc.com.

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