Rhoda Lemphers

The Minister reassessed the appellant to deny donation tax credits claimed in respect of a tax shelter.

The appellant signed an agreement to be bound by the outcome of lead cases and waived his right to appeal.

When the lead cases were dismissed, the Minister confirmed the reassessments.

The appellant appealed to the Tax Court despite the waiver.

The Crown brought a motion to quash the appeals.

The Court found that the appellant had full knowledge of his rights and an unequivocal intention to abandon them when he signed the waiver.

The motion to quash was granted.

The appellant, the sole shareholder of a holding company that owned a logging business, appealed reassessments including shareholder benefits in his income under subsection 15(1) of the Income Tax Act.

The benefits related to life insurance premiums paid by the corporation on policies insuring the appellant and his spouse, with his spouse and stepchildren as beneficiaries.

The appellant argued he was unaware of the policies or the beneficiaries, blaming his stepdaughter, an insurance broker.

The Tax Court of Canada found that the appellant ought to have known about the policies given the significant premium amounts on the financial statements he signed.

The appeal for 2013 was allowed only to the extent conceded by the Minister, and the appeals for 2014 and 2015 were dismissed.