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Distinct Requirements

Distinct Requirements (Fuscalite · (1) The Decisions of this Court and the Tax Court in Lacroix) — "[50]\n\nThat the facts of a particular case may support bot…

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  • The same facts may support both reassessment of statute-barred years and gross negligence penalties.
  • Lacroix provides the basis for this possibility.
  • The Minister may directly prove the taxpayer’s state of mind when the return was filed.
  • Usually, the Minister undermines the taxpayer’s credibility through evidence or cross-examination.
  • Unreported income combined with no credible explanation may discharge the Minister’s burden of proof.
  • Lacroix concerned a reassessment based on a net worth analysis.
  • The result depends on whether the distinct statutory requirements are satisfied in each case.
  • One requirement concerns reassessing statute-barred years.
  • Another requirement concerns assessing gross negligence penalties.
  • Lacroix did not state that the same facts will always support both outcomes.
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Distinct Requirements

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"[50]\n\nThat the facts of a particular case may support both the reassessment of statute-barred years and the assessment of gross negligence penalties is based on the comments of this Court at paragraph 32 of Lacroix:\n\n[32] What, then, of the burden of proof on the Minister? How does he discharge this burden? There may be circumstances where the Minister would be able to show direct evidence of the taxpayer's state of mind at the time the tax return was filed. However, in the vast majority of cases, the Minister will be limited to undermining the taxpayer's credibility by either adducing evidence or cross-examining the taxpayer. Insofar as the Tax Court of Canada is satisfied that the taxpayer earned unreported income and did not provide a credible explanation for the discrepancy between his or her reported income and his or her net worth, the Minister has discharged the burden of proof on him within the meaning of subparagraph 152(4)(a)(i) and subsection 162(3) [sic].\n\n[51]\n\nThis Court in Lacroix was simply confirming that in the circumstances of that case, which was a reassessment based on a net worth analysis, the same facts may support both a finding that statute-barred years may be reassessed and that gross negligence penalties could be assessed. The Court was not stating that this would always be the case. The facts of each case must be examined to determine if the distinct statutory requirements for reassessing statute-barred years and assessing gross negligence penalties are satisfied."

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