The appellants appealed their 2012 taxation year reassessments, arguing that the trust from which they received corporate shares was a 'prescribed trust' rather than an 'employee benefit plan' (EBP).
The Minister had reassessed them on the basis that the trust was an EBP, requiring the fair market value of the shares to be included in their income from employment.
The Tax Court of Canada held that the trust met the broad definition of an EBP and could not concurrently be a prescribed trust.
The court also rejected the argument that the shares received by the founding employee were not received by virtue of his employment.
The appeals were dismissed.
