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GST — wash transaction

My client was an individual who provided services to a company for many years as an independent contractor, usually billing about $40,000-$50,000 per year. Her accountant never advised her that she needed to register for GST and charge GST on her billings.

Eventually the CRA realized that my client was reporting self-employment income exceeding $30,000 per year, which meant that she should be registering for GST. The CRA registered her in 2008 and assessed her for 16 years of unremitted GST plus interest and penalties. The total assessment exceeded $75,000. At this point the client came to me for help.

I resolved the problem by arranging for my client to bill all 16 years of GST to the company, under conditions that would let the company claim a fully offsetting input tax credit for the GST (this is possible if it is done carefully). I also wrote to the CRA to request a waiver of the interest and penalty under the CRA's "wash transaction" policy. I demonstrated how my client met the CRA's guidelines for "wash transaction" relief.

The CRA agreed, and waived most of the interest and penalty. Combined with the GST recovered form the company, this reduced my client's GST debt substantially. Even further relief was possible once the CRA's policy changed to permit waiver of interest and penalty that had accrued within the past 10 years on older balances, based on the Federal Court of Appeal's 2011 decision in the Bozzer case.

(2012)