What kinds of cases are you looking for?    < Previous Case Collections — holding off on collecting on incorrect GST/HST assessmentGST/HST and income tax — real estate agent built home for personal useGST/HST — advertising servicesGST — air travel commissionsGST/HST — assessment of real estate agent on sale of condo was statute-barredGST — builder built home for personal useGST — builder of new home was not who CRA thought it wasGST/HST — Cancelling interest on "wash transaction"GST — cleaning up years of failure to charge GST on management feesGST — community centre constructionGST/HST — convincing CRA that it was too late to assessGST — corporation providing health care servicesGST/HST — couple built one home for sale and one to live inGST/HST — credit for net tax wrongly remittedGST — dental clinicGST — directors' liability (car dealership)GST — directors' liability (company dissolved)GST — director's liability (construction contractor)GST — director's liability (corporate lawyer)GST — directors' liability (person never agreed to be a director)GST — directors' liability (public company)GST — director's liability (restaurant owner)GST — directors' liability assessment — individual was never a directorGST — employee rebate more than 10 years backGST/HST — exported goodsGST/HST and income tax — family built home for personal useGST/HST — fixing a failed voluntary disclosureGST — full input tax credits allowedGST — getting CRA to honour a retroactive registrationGST — golf club membershipsGST — home renovation was not substantial renovationGST/HST — home was built for family, not for sale, and company held it as bare trusteeGST — input tax credits allowed without documentationGST/HST — input tax credits for GST incurred before registrationGST/HST — input tax credits for joint venture investmentGST/HST — input tax credits for legal fees on selling company sharesGST — input tax credits justifiedGST/HST — input tax credits — “medical” company was not making exempt suppliesGST/HST — input tax credits on bulk purchases of iPhonesGST/HST — input tax credits on inputs to exempt suppliesGST/HST — input tax credits on purchase of old home for new projectGST — input tax credits on land held for developmentGST/HST — input tax credits to charity for cost of landGST/HST — input tax credits where CRA had cancelled supplier's GST registrationGST/HST — input tax credits where invoices addressed to different company in groupGST — interest reduced to reflect offsetting rebateGST/HST — ITCs for joint venturerGST — liability of charitable institution for unremitted GSTGST/HST — litigation over real estate purchaseGST/HST — mail processing company ruinous assessment avertedGST — medical devicesGST — miscellaneous adjustmentsGST/HST — new housing rebateGST/HST — net tax refund approvedGST/HST — no HST on settlement received but ITCs on termination paymentGST/HST — no "substantial renovation" of apartment buildingGST — partnership assessment was out of timeGST — purchase of real estateGST/HST — purchases by President as agentGST — rebate for ship towed out of the countryGST/HST — rebate to builder of student residenceGST — recognizing when a second objection had to be filedGST/HST — recovering HST not paid on sales incentivesGST/HST — recovering tax from customers after CRA assessmentGST — reducing assessment by almost 90%GST/HST — reducing assessment on self-supply of new homeGST — registrants were not associatedGST — reopening audit after expiry of appeal periodGST/HST — resolving dispute between buyer and seller of landGST — retroactively deeming a business to be GST-registeredGST — sales of condominiumsGST — school board's liability eliminatedGST — services to insolvent companies were zero-ratedGST/HST — services to US company were zero-ratedGST/HST — services were zero-ratedGST/HST — showing purchaser that real estate sale was exemptGST — stopping a client from being driven out of businessGST — summer camp teaching English as a second language was exemptGST — tax on purchase of commercial propertyGST — tire installer neglecting to bill GSTGST — townhouse renovationsGST/HST — valuation of student residenceGST — voluntary disclosure — negotiating interest relief and income tax offsetGST — voluntary disclosure acceptedGST — voluntary disclosure of GST collected on commercial rentsGST — voluntary disclosure of management feesGST — waiver of interestGST — waiver of interest and penaltyGST — waiver of penaltyGST — wash transactionGST — were courses educational or recreational?HST and the Ontario Staycation Tax Credit — correcting the provincial government’s misunderstandingPST — director's liabilityPST — directors' liability (car dealership)PST — directors' liability re data conversion projectPST — eliminating assessment for tax collected by franchisorPST — invoices written up incorrectlyPST — reducing tax on sale of book with CD-ROMPST — refund of tax on supermarket constructionIncome tax — $2 million payment on retirement was tax-freeIncome tax — another refund where return filed lateIncome tax — assessment for transfer by tax debtorIncome tax — auditor demanding too muchIncome tax — builder built home as personal residenceIncome tax — cancelling source deductions assessmentIncome tax — capital gains vs. incomeIncome tax — charitable donation of kidney beansIncome tax — charitable donation to US religious schoolIncome tax — child support deductionIncome tax — claiming business losses from past yearsIncome tax — companies were not carrying on Personal Services BusinessIncome tax — consequential reassessment of spouse was statute-barredIncome tax — corporation was bare trusteeIncome tax — cost of building home proven without receiptsIncome tax — costs of mother's Notice of Objection deductibleIncome tax — CRA chasing widow for deceased's RRSPIncome tax — deduction for Power of Attorney feesIncome tax — donations to suspect charity allowedIncome tax — expenses against unreported incomeIncome tax — expenses of setting up a film shelterIncome tax — general anti-avoidance ruleIncome tax — getting the $500,000 capital gains exemptionIncome tax — getting Third Level Fairness reviewIncome tax — income from UN agency was tax-freeIncome tax — income not earned personallyIncome tax — intercompany charges deductibleIncome tax — liability of deceased's estate for UK pension incomeIncome tax — no tax on litigation settlementIncome tax — non-resident tax on rental incomeIncome tax — officers of company were acting as outside sales reps, not employeesIncome tax — over-intrusive auditIncome tax — professional fees deduction allowedIncome tax — refund to non-resident sellers of propertyIncome tax — refunds where returns filed lateIncome tax — "reserve" was not a reserveIncome tax — RRSP on deathIncome tax — sale of condo was not a "flip" for profitIncome tax — sale of rental property by non-residentIncome tax — tax savings on selling homeIncome tax — taxpayer did not realize she was non-resident and exempt from Canadian taxIncome tax — trust for disabled childIncome tax — voluntary disclosureIncome tax — wages of family members were deductibleIncome tax — waiver of RRSP penalty taxIncome tax — waiver of TFSA penalty taxIncome tax — withholding tax on deemed dividendIncome tax and GST — real estate agent's business expensesCollections — execution preventing sale of propertyPayroll withholdings — directors' liability (company dissolved)Payroll withholdings — directors' liability (public company)Payroll withholdings — penalty for late remittanceYour problem goes here Next Case > GST/HST — input tax credits to charity for cost of land My client was an Ontario charity that carried on some activities that were exempt of GST/HST, and others that were considered “commercial activities” and subject to 13% HST. The charity bought land near its existing operation, in order to build a larger building to expand its activities. More than 50% of the new building was to be used in its “commercial activities” (as that term is defined for GST/HST). As a result, I advised the charity that it could claim an input tax credit (ITC) to recover all of the HST it paid on buying the land; and also that it would be able to recover all of the HST it would pay on the design and construction costs. On its 2023 GST/HST return, the charity claimed the ITC on the land purchase, as well as on architect fees for designing the new building. In the meantime, it was allowing people attending its existing building to park at the empty lot while the new construction had not yet started. A CRA “GST Refund Integrity Auditor” audited the charity and concluded that these ITCs should be denied. He decided that, since the land was being used for free parking, and free parking supplied by a charity is an exempt supply, the charity was using the land in exempt activities and was thus not entitled to the ITCs. He also did not agree that the eventual use of the new building would be primarily in commercial activities. When the charity got me involved in the matter, I called the auditor. He was ready to issue his assessment within the next couple of days. I asked him to hold off for a few days while I made a written submission — which he told me on the phone would make no difference, as whatever I told him would just be my view. I called his Team Leader and asked that the auditor be fair to my client and be open to receiving a written legal submission. The Team Leader agreed, and spoke to the auditor about this. Over the course of the next 2-3 days, I worked intensively with my client. We got the architect to “colour-code” the plans for the new building, so that we could easily show which portions would be used for commercial activities, which for exempt activities and which were for supporting both kind of activities (e.g., hallways, bathrooms, stairwells). We also prepared a spreadsheet, using the architect’s calculations for each space, showing that the percentage of use in commercial activities was substantially over 50%. I then sent the auditor and Team Leader a letter with these documents and a detailed legal analysis, demonstrating that the new building was to be used primarily in “commercial activities” and thus that full ITCs should be allowed. I also explained, using both case law and CRA publications, that the test to be applied was a test of intention rather than the actual use of the land; and that the current use for free parking was clearly not the intention the charity had when deciding to buy the land. I also showed that, even if the current use for parking was relevant, that use was primarily in support of the charity’s commercial activities In my letter, I encouraged the auditor and Team Leader to discuss the matter with me on the phone, or to send my submission to their technical advisor or to Rulings in Ottawa if they weren’t sure of the legal result. One day later, the auditor called my client to advise that he was accepting my letter in full and allowing all of the ITCs. Problem solved! (2024)