Sandra Tsui

The appellant participated in a charitable donation tax shelter and appealed the Minister's reassessment denying his claimed credits.

He brought a motion seeking over $2.2 million in interim costs to fund his litigation, or alternatively, an order holding his appeal in abeyance until the Minister confirmed the objections of approximately 17,000 other taxpayers involved in the same scheme.

The Tax Court dismissed the motion, finding that the appeal involved personal financial issues rather than matters of public importance, thus failing the Okanagan test for interim costs.

The Court also declined to hold the appeal in abeyance, noting the appellant had chosen not to be bound by a previous lead case that had already dismissed appeals related to the same tax shelter.

The Minister of National Revenue brought an application under section 174 of the Income Tax Act to determine a common question regarding a tax shelter, naming several taxpayers.

The Minister subsequently withdrew the application.

The named taxpayers sought costs.

The Court held that costs for the application should be determined and awarded immediately, rather than waiting for the conclusion of the taxpayers' individual appeals, because the application was a separate proceeding.

The Court awarded varying amounts of costs to the taxpayers based on their individual circumstances and representation.