Bobby Solhi

The Minister of National Revenue brought a motion to strike three affidavits filed by Gold Line Telemanagement Inc. in opposition to an application under section 311 of the Excise Tax Act.

The Court struck portions of the expert affidavit of Timo Vainionpaa that directly challenged the CRA's analysis of call detail records, finding them irrelevant to the preliminary stages of the application.

However, the Court declined to strike the balance of the Vainionpaa affidavit or the factual affidavits of Joel Bowers and Alexei Tretiakov, finding they provided necessary technical background and foundational evidence.

The appellant corporation purchased a condominium unit and rented it under long-term leases for nine years.

It then listed the unit on Airbnb for short-term rentals for 14 months before selling it.

The Minister assessed the appellant for unremitted GST/HST on the sale.

The Tax Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, finding that the change to short-term rentals constituted a change in use to commercial activities, and at the time of sale, the unit was similar to a hotel or motel and not a residential complex.

Therefore, the sale was a taxable supply.