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GST — dental clinic

My client operated a dental clinic. The dentists in the clinic worked for him, providing him with GST-exempt dental services that he re-supplied to his patients. The patients were patients of the clinic, not of the individual dentists, who changed over time.

The CRA audited my client and concluded that he was renting facilities to the dentists to use in their individual practices. This would be a taxable supply for GST purposes. Unfortunately for my client, he had signed a contract with each of the dentists that said they were renting facilities from him. These contracts did not reflect the actual situation. The auditor assessed my client for over $100,000.

I filed a Notice of Objection, and worked with my client to assemble a large binder of documentation to show that the business was really his. The documents showed that the clinic (my client) paid the dentists for their services and controlled how the operation ran, rather than simply renting facilities and equipment to them. The clinic's revenues belonged to the clinic rather than to the dentists. I also provided documentation to explain why my client had drafted a contract to sign with the dentists that provided the wrong impression as to the relationship.

We met with the Appeals Officer and the Appeals Officer's Team Leader. They were initially skeptical, but I went through all the documents with them, and had my client and two of the dentists explain how the business really operated. I also provided a detailed technical analysis, supported by case law, to show why the "actual" state of affairs should determine the result, rather than the incorrect contracts.

The Appeals Officer agreed, and cancelled the assessment.

Problem vanished!

(2012)