Cases
Gervais v. The Queen, 2016 CAF 1
After a third party ("BW") had made an offer to purchase the shares of a Quebec manufacturing company ("Vulcain"), Mr. Gervais sold 1.04M Vulcain...
Baird v. Canada, 2010 DTC 5035 [at 6653], 2010 FCA 35
The taxpayer left the employment of his employer, a public corporation, in February 2000, exercised his employee stock options in December 2000,...
2529-1915 Québec Inc. v. Canada, 2009 DTC 5023 [at 5585], 2008 FCA 398
Overview of facts. The two individual taxpayers devised a scheme to: generate artificial capital gains of $110 million in some home-grown...
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| Tax Topics - General Concepts - Sham | capital dividend elections for distributions of what should have been known to be income-account gains were shams | 266 |
| Tax Topics - General Concepts - Tax Avoidance | capital dividend elections for distributions of what should have been known to be income-account gains were shams | 266 |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 248 - Subsection 248(1) - Business | shares premiums received for marketing tax scheme were business income | 213 |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 83 - Subsection 83(2) | capital dividend elections for distributions of what should have been known to be income-account gains were shams | 718 |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 9 - Exempt Receipts/Business | shares premiums received for marketing tax scheme were business income | 223 |
Ellis v. The Queen, 2007 DTC 996, 2007 TCC 289, aff'd 2008 DTC 6230, 2008 FCA 92
Shares which the taxpayer acquired mostly pursuant to an incentive stock option plan and which he did not sell on exercise given that, as CEO, he...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 18 - Subsection 18(1) - Paragraph 18(1)(a) - Income-Producing Purpose | 50 |
Evans v. Canada (Attorney General), 2003 DTC 5329, 2003 FCA 218, aff'g sub nom. Bossy v. The Queen, 2002 DTC 1763, Docket: 2000-1817-IT-G (TCC)
The taxpayers had transferred a profitable consulting business to an unprofitable management consulting firm ("TF&B) while at the same time being...
McGroarty v. the Queen, 94 DTC 6276 (FCTD)
Gains realized by the taxpayer from various sales of the shares of two Vancouver-listed stocks were on income account given his background and...
Forest Lane Holdings Ltd. v. The Queen, 90 DTC 6495 (FCTD)
It was found that two private companies, which were controlled by an individual who was a senior manager at a Canadian securities dealer, held the...
Sullivan Estate v. The Queen, 90 DTC 6191 (FCTD)
An executive of a mining company ("Pacific Copper"), at a time that he anticipated that Pacific Copper would later dispose of its shares in an...
Pollock v. The Queen, 90 DTC 6142 (FCTD), aff'd 94 DTC 6050 (FCA)
The taxpayer, who was an experienced mining engineer, was held to have realized gains on income account from the disposition (generally a short...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 248 - Subsection 248(1) - Business | 72 |
Imperial Stables (1981) Ltd. v. The Queen, 90 DTC 6135 (FCTD), aff'd 92 DTC 6189 (FCA)
The taxpayer, which for convenience was referred to in the reasons for judgment by the name of its controlling individual shareholder ("Culley"),...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 9 - Capital Gain vs. Profit - Options | 90 |
Karben Holding Ltd. v. The Queen, 89 DTC 5413 (FCTD)
An estate incorporated the taxpayer and then transferred U.S. $1 million in assets to it. Under the direction of an investment manager the...
Grohne v. The Queen, 89 DTC 5220 (FCTD)
The taxpayer, who had not previously acted as a promoter, agreed along with four other promoters of a company, to purchase its shares at 25¢ per...
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| Tax Topics - General Concepts - Onus | 35 | |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 15 - Subsection 15(1) | mere fulfillment of contractual obligation | 144 |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 248 - Subsection 248(1) - Employee | 30 | |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 7 - Subsection 7(5) | 145 |
Dumas v. MNR, 89 DTC 5004 (FCA)
After the individual taxpayer had orally agreed to sell land, he was persuaded by his lawyer that it would be better for tax and other reasons to...
Placements Bourget Inc. v. The Queen, 88 DTC 6274 (FCTD)
The taxpayer was in a business of trading in securities in light of its objects, its almost daily trading of securities on margin, the speculative...
Cull v. The Queen, 87 DTC 5322, [1987] 2 CTC 63 (FCTD)
It was held that the partners in a law firm acquired the shares of a company engaged in the development as housing subdivisions of land held under...
Mould v. The Queen, 86 DTC 6087, [1986] 1 CTC 271 (FCTD)
The taxpayer acquired 12% of the shares of a company whose only asset was raw land which it intended to develop, subdivide, service, and then sell...
Busby v. The Queen, 86 DTC 6018, [1986] 1 CTC 147 (FCTD)
There was found to be "no broad proposition of law that invests all stock option dealings with the character of speculative trading ventures". The...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 7 - Subsection 7(5) | 54 |
Watts Estate v. The Queen, 84 DTC 6564, [1984] CTC 653 (FCTD)
A mining engineer, a prospector and an investment dealer representative incorporated, and subscribed to the shares of a company in order to...
The Queen v. Roynat Ltd., 81 DTC 5072, [1981] CTC 93 (FCTD)
Gains from the disposition of shares and share options were fully taxable, where those shares and options were acquired by the taxpayer, whose...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 248 - Subsection 248(1) - Income Bond | 44 | |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 9 - Interest Income | 60 |
Weldon v. The Queen, 80 DTC 6224, [1980] CTC 301, 80 DTC 6224 (FCTD)
The taxpayers, who were real estate developers, formed a corporation to develop a real estate property. After encountering difficulties in the...
Malka v. The Queen, 78 DTC 6144, [1978] CTC 219 (FCTD)
The taxpayers (1) acquired the common shares of a company with accumulated losses of $325,000, (2) had a profitable shoe-making operation...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 111 - Subsection 111(5) | 121 | |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 159 - Subsection 159(2) | de facto liquidator | 65 |
McAdam v. The Queen, 78 DTC 6133, [1978] CTC 198 (FCA)
The taxpayer was found to be engaged in a "profit- making operation or business of finding mineral properties, developing them and turning them to...
Gold v. The Queen, 77 DTC 5430, [1977] CTC 616 (FCTD)
The purchase and sale of shares of a public company within the same month by a Revenue Canada employee gave rise to a capital loss. His...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 62 | 100 |
Western Wholesale Drug Ltd. v. The Queen, 77 DTC 5021, [1977] CTC 1 (FCTD)
After protracted negotiations the taxpayer, which was a drug wholesaler, agreed with the American majority shareholder ("Sperti") of a drug...
Darke v. MNR, 76 DTC 6468, [1976] CTC 734 (FCTD)
Shares in mining companies received by a partnership (which had been formed in order to stake claims) as partial consideration for the sale of...
McKinley v. MNR, 74 DTC 6138, [1974] CTC 170 (FCA)
The taxpayer and the other shareholder of a private oil and gas company ("Siebens"), which was engaged in the business of dealing in oil and gas...
Wellington Hotel Holdings Ltd. v. MNR, 73 DTC 5391 (FCTD)
The principal business of the taxpayer was to operate a hotel and restaurant. However, in 1967 it began to buy and sell securities on a small...
Burgess v. MNR, 73 DTC 5040, [1973] CTC 58 (FCTD)
A house builder and two business associates contributed their interests in vacant land to a newly-incorporated company with a view to the company...
Atwater Western Corp. v. MNR, 70 DTC 6312, [1970] CTC 472 (Ex Ct)
Two individuals with extensive experience in the purchase and sale of real estate incorporated the taxpayer to acquire a long-term lease of...
H.R. Whittall v. Minister of National Revenue, 67 DTC 5264, [1967] CTC 394, [1968] S.C.R. 432
The taxpayer, who was the president and majority shareholder of an investment dealer, realized substantial gains on income account from the...
Minister of National Revenue v. Foreign Power Securities Corporation Ltd., 67 DTC 5084, [1967] CTC 116, [1967] S.C.R. 295
The taxpayer acquired shares of two utility companies from its parent at cost. The gains which it realized shortly thereafter were held to be...
Fraser v. Minister of National Revenue, 64 DTC 5224, [1964] CTC 372, [1964] S.C.R. 657
After being approached by Dominion Stores respecting the acquisition of a store the taxpayer, together with another individual who also was an...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 9 - Capital Gain vs. Profit - Real Estate | sale of shares was alternative method of effecting secondary intention re land | 153 |
Osler, Hammond & Nanton Limited v. Minister of National Revenue, 63 DTC 1119, [1963] CTC 164, [1963] S.C.R. 432
The taxpayer retained a portion of the common shares which were issued to it on an underwriting, and several years later sold a portion of such...
Hill-Clark-Francis Limited v. Minister of National Revenue, 63 DTC 1211, [1963] CTC 337, [1963] S.C.R. 452
The taxpayer, which in June 1952 obtained an option to acquire shares of a corporation with a view to ultimately exercising the option and making...
Irrigation Industries Ltd. v. The Minister of National Revenue, 62 DTC 1131, [1962] CTC 215, [1962] S.C.R. 346
The only dealing in shares by the taxpayer (whose objects did not include the purchase and sale of shares) was the purchase of 4,000 treasury...
Gardiner v. Minister of National Revenue, 54 DTC 1015, [1954] CTC 24, [1964] S.C.R. 66 (SCC)
The taxpayer, which was a securites dealer, ceased in 1938 to comply with requirements of the investment dealers' association of which it was a...
See Also
Gervais v. The Queen, 2015 DTC 1026 [at 105], 2014 TCC 119, rev'd supra 2016 CAF 1
After a third party ("BW") had made an offer to purchase the shares of a Quebec manufacturing company ("Vulcain"), Mr. Gervais sold 1.04M Vulcain...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 47 - Subsection 47(1) | no averaging with identical share inventory | 89 |
Prochuk v. The Queen, 2014 DTC 1050 [at 2917], 2014 TCC 17
The taxpayer, whose principal source of income was his RRSP, received distributions of $63,750 on an investment made outside his RRSP in a...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 18 - Subsection 18(1) - Paragraph 18(1)(b) - Capital Loss v. Loss | trading RRSP funds does not make the annuitant a trader | 116 |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 248 - Subsection 248(1) - Business | trading RRSP funds does not make the annuitant a trader | 116 |
Wong v. The Queen, 2013 DTC 1114 [at 606], 2013 TCC 130 (Informal Procedure)
VA Miller J found that the sheer number of trades the taxpayer engaged in - exceeding 600 over a period of five years - supported a finding that...
Kriplani v. The Queen, 2012 DTC 1027 [at 2629], 2011 TCC 542 (Informal Procedure)
The taxpayer, who in 2005 was a training coordinator at IBM Canada, had filed her 1999 to 2004 returns on the basis that her share and option...
Charbonneau Trust v. Quebec (Deputy Minister of Revenue), 2010 QCCA 400
On the death of Mr. Charbonneau, the trust received farm land which had ceased to be farmed by the time of his decease and which he had started to...
1338664 Ontario Limited v. The Queen, 2008 DTC 4126, 2008 TCC 350
After noting that the question whether gains realized by the taxpayer (which was a family-owned corporation) on disposing of securities was on...
Leng v. The Queen, 2007 DTC 370, 2007 TCC 59 (Informal Procedure)
The taxpayer, who was an assistant professor of pathology, engaged in approximately 17 transactions in shares of hi-tech companies in the three...
B.W. Strassburger Limited v. The Queen, 2004 DTC 3255, 2004 TCC 614
The Minister reassessed the taxpayer for its 1996 year by treating its profits from 52 sales of securities in the year as being on income account...
Sandnes v. The Queen, 2004 DTC 2466, 2004 TCC 244
The taxpayer, who was employed part-time by a public resource company providing office administration and shareholder relations services, acquired...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 39 - Subsection 39(4) | 67 |
Bossy v. The Queen, 2002 DTC 1763 (TCC)
An accounting firm of which the taxpayers were partners transferred its consulting business to a loss company controlled by one of the partners...
Hollinger Inc. v. The Queen, 98 DTC 1913 (TCC), aff'd 99 DTC 5500 (FCA)
In finding that shares with a high adjusted cost base but nominal fair market value that the taxpayer had acquired with a view to realizing the...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 9 - Computation of Profit | 76 |
Pitch v. MNR, 93 DTC 939 (TCC)
The taxpayer acquired convertible retractable preference shares with a view to redeeming them and realizing an SRTC credit. The redemption...
Waylee Investments Ltd. v. CIR, [1990] BTC 543 (PC)
After a customer ("HIL") of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (the "Bank") began experiencing financial difficulty, the Bank, in...
Administrative Policy
24 March 2015 External T.I. 2012-0470991E5 F - Mutual fund trust
Before going on to discuss the effect of the s. 39(4) election, which likely applied even if a mutual fund trust was a "day trader" that used...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - 101-110 - Section 104 - Subsection 104(21) | 183 | |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 132 - Subsection 132(6) | day trading included in investment undertaking | 62 |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 18 - Subsection 18(1) - Paragraph 18(1)(a) - Income-Producing Purpose | 67 | |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 39 - Subsection 39(5) - Paragraph 39(5)(a) | 183 |
20 March 2012 External T.I. 2012-0438651E5 - Capital vs Income
General principles would be applied in determining whether flow-through shares were acquired on capital account. The fact that there was a tax...
Income Tax Technical News, No. 7, 21 February 1996
The decision in the Mara Properties case has affected the position of Revenue Canada that non-depreciable capital property does not change its...
May 1995 Tax Executive Institute Round Table, Q. 19
A statement of powers in the incorporating documents for a corporation to make investments is not in itself determinative of whether investment...
15 September 1994 External T.I. 5-941818
Venture capital corporations are not passive investors but rather are carrying on the business for which they were incorporated. Generally, they...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 39 - Subsection 39(5) - Paragraph 39(5)(a) | 39 |
25 May 1994 External T.I. 5-940421
Occasional investments in shares by a trader in commodity futures could result in gains or losses on account of capital rather than on account of...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 9 - Capital Gain vs. Profit - Futures/Forwards/Hedges | 27 |
1 December 1992 T.I. (Tax Window, No. 27, p. 9, ¶2319)
Where one corporation within a corporate group transfers a capital property with an unrealized capital gain on a rollover basis to a second...
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 111 - Subsection 111(1) - Paragraph 111(1)(a) | 49 | |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 245 - Subsection 245(4) | 49 |
25 August 1992 T.I. (Tax Window, No. 23, p. 13, ¶2153)
Capital property received by a beneficiary of a trust will qualify as capital property when immediately thereafter transferred to a corporation...
25 October 1991 T.I. (Tax Window, No. 12, p. 10, ¶1554)
Where shares have been issued by a corporation as consideration for real property transferred to it and s. 54.2 does not apply, then if a sale of...
13 June 1991 Memorandum (Tax Window, No. 4, p. 20, ¶1300)
With respect to a bank which had claimed the benefit of former s. 112(2.2)(f), Revenue Canada was of the view that a share that is acquired in the...
18 March 1991 T.I. (Tax Window, No. 1, p. 20, ¶1156)
Because securities transactions are an integral part of the business of an insurance corporation, it ordinarily realizes gains and losses on such...
10 September 1990 T.I. (Tax Window, Prelim. No. 1, p. 18, ¶1012)
Where a financial institution takes possession of preferred shares on default and the shares are held for resale, those shares are held on...
30 March 1990 T.I.: 6 April 1990 Memorandum (September 1990 Access Letter, ¶1408)
Whether loan realization assets constitute inventory or other income assets of a bank is a question of fact which can only be determined upon a...
20 July 1989 Memorandum (Dec. 89 Access Letter, ¶1068)
Although it is possible for a financial institution to realize capital gains on the sale of securities, the usual result would be that the gains...
86 C.R. - Q.16
Most profits attributable to venture capital corporations are on income account.
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 39 - Subsection 39(5) - Paragraph 39(5)(a) | 12 |
86 C.R. - Q.20
Where a s. 85(1) roll is followed by an immediate sale of the treasury shares, the sale of those shares generally will be on account of capital if...
84 C.R. - Q.49
Where an individual transfers capital property to his corporation and the corporation disposes of that property a short time thereafter, RC is...
84 C.R. - Q.52
A short holding period for capital property bumped under s. 88(1)(d) will not preclude capital gains treatment to the parent.
81 C.R. - Q.6
Where the transfer of assets under section 85 followed by a sale of shares is simply an attempt to convert what would otherwise be an income gain...
80 C.R. - Q. 8
The fact that capital property has been transferred to a corporation pursuant to subsection 85(1) and the corporation immediately thereafter sells...
IT-459 "Adventure or Concern in the Nature of Trade"
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 9 - Capital Gain vs. Profit - Real Estate | 0 |
IT-479R "Transactions in Securities"
11. Some of the factors to be considered in ascertaining whether the taxpayer's course of conduct indicates the carrying on of a business are as...
Articles
Sandler, "Character Roles: Property Transfers and Characterization Issues", 1996 Canadian Tax Journal, Vol. 44, No. 3, p. 605.
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| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 9 - Capital Gain vs. Profit - Real Estate | 0 |
Commentary
Shares as investments
It has been suggested that shares are investments if the primary purpose of the investor in acquiring them was to generate...