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Income tax — expenses of setting up a film shelter

My client was a marketing entrepreneur. He incorporated a company to develop and market a film tax shelter in mid-2001. This required money to pay a law firm to prepare a prospectus, money which my client did not have. He obtained funding from a corporation he had worked for that had spare cash and was looking to invest in a shelter. This was done by issuing invoices to that corporation for services, even though he was not rendering any services to them. The funds were intended for my client's company, but the invoices were in his own name.

In September 2001, the Department of Finance announced changes to the Income Tax Act that effectively eliminated film tax shelters, and my client's business venture could no longer proceed. The law firm billed him some $130,000 for work done (in addition to the $50,000 they had been paid). My client hired counsel and disputed the bill, eventually reaching agreement to pay them $38,000.

While the dispute with the law firm was proceeding, my client had to figure out what to do with the $63,000 he had billed to obtain the funds to proceed. He could not file a corporate tax return for his company because he did not yet know how much the company would be paying. But he also did not want to fail to report the $63,000 of income invoiced in his own name. He therefore reported both the $63,000 of income, and $101,000 in expenses, on his personal return.

The CRA audited my client's return and denied the $101,000 in expenses, since they really belonged to the company. However, the auditor left the $63,000 of income on his return. This led to a substantial amount of tax owing, with no offsetting deduction.

My client approached me for help.

I saw that there was not much point in trying to argue that my client's filing position was correct, and advised him so. The claim for the deduction of $101,000 was unlikely to succeed.

I filed a Notice of Objection on my client's behalf, arguing merely that the $63,000 should be deleted from my client's income, even though he had invoiced these amounts. I provided a copy an Agency Agreement, which recorded the oral understanding that had always been in place between my and his company, so that it was clear that this income belonged to the company. This was backed up with Affidavits from various persons swearing to the truth of the information provided. I provided case law showing that an oral agreement that is later reduced to writing is valid. And I showed that the income should be linked to the expenses, so that both belonged in the corporation. If the $63,000 remained in my client's income, it would be double taxed.

The CRA appeals officer agreed, and deleted the $63,000 from my client's income. My client then proceeded to report both the income and the expense in the corporation.

Problem solved — as best as could be on the fact of the case.

(2004)