[2016] 3 F.C.R. D-11
Income Tax
Gifts
Consolidated appeals from interlocutory order by Tax Court of Canada (T.C.C.) (2015 TCC 35) allowing respondent’s motion to strike plea in appellant’s amended notices of appeal — Plea in question invoking Interpretation Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. I-21, ss. 8.1, 8.2, alleging that in assessing legal validity of gift under Income Tax Act, R.S.C., 1985 (5th Supp.), c. 1 (ITA), Parliament intending that uniform concept of gift in line with civil law of Quebec be applied across Canada — Assessments in issue disallowing in whole principal appellant’s claimed tax credits respecting gifts made to registered charity pursuant to ITA, s. 118.1 — Appellant arguing, inter alia, entitled to tax credits claimed regarding portion of gifts exceeding value of any consideration received — T.C.C. striking down plea on basis doomed to fail — Whether arguable Parliament intending word “gift” in ITA, s. 118.1(3) to encompass split gifts, in line with notion recognized by civil law — T.C.C. discarding as “hopeless” contention that prior to 2002 amendments to ITA, Parliament could have intended to exclude common law meaning of “gift” in favour of civil law definition — Finding support for this assessment in Explanatory Notes accompanying 2002 amendments, rejecting any suggestion that prior case law could be read as recognizing validity of split gifts or that case law “murky” — Explanatory Notes suggesting state of case law in common law provinces not as certain as T.C.C. holding, need for clarification — In fact, some decisions acknowledging existence of split gift — Other decisions not clear or leaving question open — Thus cannot be said with certainty that meaning of “gift” prior to 2002 amendments excluding notion of split gift in common law provinces — Arguable Parliament intending to attribute to word “gift” meaning coinciding with civil law — Therefore, no basis for striking appellant’s plea at present stage of proceedings — Appeals allowed.
French v. Canada (A-102-15, 2016 FCA 64, Noël C.J., judgment dated February 29, 2016, 19 pp.)