Anita C. Veiga

A corporation incorporated in the British Virgin Islands appealed Ontario tax reassessments requiring it to include interest received from a related Canadian company as taxable corporate income under the Corporations Tax Act.

The interest arose from specialty debt instruments issued as part of a corporate tax planning structure intended to replace retained earnings with intercompany borrowings.

The court considered whether the interest constituted income from a business carried on in Canada, whether the Ontario General Anti-Avoidance Rule applied, and whether the income triggered corporate minimum tax.

Relying on the Court of Appeal’s decision in Inter-Leasing, the court held the interest was income from property rather than business income and therefore not taxable under the applicable provisions.

The GAAR did not apply and the corporate minimum tax regime was also inapplicable.

Following an appeal involving a dispute between a corporate appellant and the provincial Minister of Revenue, the court addressed the issue of costs.

The parties agreed on a fixed amount for legal fees and disbursements payable to the respondent.

The court endorsed the agreement and ordered that the respondent recover the agreed costs.

The decision reflects the court’s approval of negotiated costs following the disposition of the appeal.

The appellant corporation appealed Ontario corporate tax assessments arising from interest income earned through refinancing transactions within a corporate group.

The appellant argued the interest constituted income from property and therefore fell outside the scope of Ontario taxation under the pre‑2005 Corporations Tax Act regime applicable to non‑Canadian incorporated corporations.

The court held that the interest income formed part of a business carried on in Canada because the corporation’s core purpose was to facilitate financing transactions within the corporate group and administer the resulting debt instruments in Canada.

As a result, the interest income constituted income from a business carried on in Canada within the meaning of s. 115 of the Income Tax Act and was taxable in Ontario.

The court upheld the Minister’s assessments and found it unnecessary to conduct a full GAAR analysis.