Bifalgorithm post · Fuscalite · (1) The Decisions of this Court and the Tax Court in Lacroix

Lacroix Findings

Lacroix Findings (Fuscalite · (1) The Decisions of this Court and the Tax Court in Lacroix) — "[52]\n\nIn Lacroix, this Court also noted:\n\n[30] The facts in…

Ideas in this flowchart

  • Lacroix supports penalties and reassessment where unreported income is knowingly concealed or results from gross negligence.
  • The tax return misrepresented facts, and the taxpayer's explanation was not credible.
  • The evidence implied another source of income that the taxpayer knew about and refused to disclose.
  • The false return was therefore filed knowingly or under circumstances amounting to gross negligence.
  • This justified a penalty and a reassessment beyond the statutory period.
  • The taxpayer challenged the net worth analysis by claiming a $500,000 loan.
  • The Court found it more likely than not that the loans never existed.
  • The notes, repayment request, and cheques were found to be a sham hiding the truth.
  • The appellant therefore deliberately failed to report $516,000 in income.
  • The Minister discharged the burden of proof for penalties under subsection 163(2).
  • The Minister was entitled to reassess because the subsection 163(2) burden is lower than the subsection 152(4) burden.
Feed/

Lacroix Findings

No cover

Channel

Fuscalite

1 page

"[52]\n\nIn Lacroix, this Court also noted:\n\n[30] The facts in evidence in this case are such that the taxpayer's tax return made a misrepresentation of facts, and the only explanation offered by the taxpayer was found not to be credible. Clearly, there must be some other explanation for this income. It must therefore be concluded that the taxpayer had an unreported source of income, was aware of this source and refused to disclose it, since the explanation he gave was found not to be credible. In those circumstances, the conclusion that the false tax return was filed knowingly, or under circumstances amounting to gross negligence, is inescapable. This justifies not only a penalty, but also a reassessment beyond the statutory period.\n\n[emphasis added]\n\n[53]\n\nIn Lacroix, the taxpayer was arguing that he had received a loan of $500,000 from another individual and therefore the net worth analysis was not accurate. In rejecting this argument, the Tax Court Judge in Lacroix (2007 TCC 376) noted:\n\n[20] My analysis of the evidence leads me to find that it is more likely than not that these loans never existed and that the notes (Exhibit A-4), the request for repayment (Exhibit A-8) and the cheques made out to Mr. Pronovost were merely a sham to hide the truth. Accordingly, it is difficult to arrive at any other conclusion than that the appellant deliberately failed to report $516,000 in income. In my opinion, the Minister has discharged the burden of proof on him and was therefore entitled to impose penalties under subsection 163(2) of the Act on the appellant’s unreported income. Since the Minister’s burden of proof is less under subsection 163(2) of the Act than under subsection 152(4), I am also of the opinion that the Minister was entitled to make reassessments."

Flowchart preview
👍
0
0 comments0 shares

Sign in to view and post comments.