The appellant mining company appealed a reassessment including a $28.2 million commitment fee and a $73.3 million non-completion fee in its income for the 1996 taxation year.
The fees were received following a failed merger attempt to acquire a target company with a significant nickel deposit.
The Tax Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, finding that the break fees were inextricably linked to the appellant's ordinary business operations of acquiring mineral deposits and were therefore taxable as income from a business.
