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Stunning Court Win for Canada Revenue Agency :CRA SOTW

For more background on this week’s Tax Tale please review:

4 Dec 2006 - Landmark Court Decision shoots Down the CRA! Part I of
II
http://groups.google.ca/group/can.taxes/browse_frm/thread/5de1a9cad76aa54/19eb33c6eb2d9004?lnk=st&q=&rnum=4&hl=en#19eb33c6eb2d9004

11 Dec 2006 - Landmark Court Decision shoots Down the CRA! Part I of
II
http://groups.google.ca/group/can.taxes/browse_frm/thread/2a73f598ef74580b/0f90903f43dac6f3?lnk=st&q=&rnum=2&hl=en#0f90903f43dac6f3

Redeemer loses top court appeal against tax police
Rebecca Penty
The Hamilton Spectator
(Aug 1, 2008)

A Supreme Court decision yesterday reaffirms that tax cops can snoop
through a charity's records to audit its donors.

In a 4-3 ruling, the court dismissed Redeemer Foundation's appeal in
its case against the Minister of National Revenue (Canada Revenue
Agency).

The CRA audited and reassessed 250 donors after obtaining Redeemer's
donor list while auditing the foundation in 2001 and 2002.

The foundation provided forgivable loans to students of Redeemer
University College, a Christian college in Ancaster that offers
university-level courses.

Redeemer maintained that under the Income Tax Act, the CRA should have
had a judge's order to get the donor list.

Hamilton tax lawyer John Loukidelis has followed the case. He said he
believes the court ruling will give the CRA further cause to believe
it has "broad, unfettered power."

"All you'd have to do now is put the label 'audit' on any kind of
inquiry and all of a sudden you no longer need to go to a judge for
the information," Loukidelis said.

Donors received tax receipts for the foundation's Forgivable Loan
Program, which covered part of students' tuitions starting in 1989.

Until 2002, parents, siblings and grandparents of students were
allowed to contribute.

CRA began its audits because of concerns donors were reaping tax
benefits to pay for their own family members' education.

Redeemer suspended the loan program in 2005.

Redeemer's executive director Bill van Staalduinen said he was
disappointed with the court ruling.

"Our position is that they should have gotten a court order," van
Staalduinen said.

The four justices of the majority wrote in their decision that a
judge's permission should not be required when the CRA audits an
organization, even if information will lead to audits of "other
unnamed taxpayers."

Taxpayers do not expect much privacy in tax matters anyway, argued
senior general counsel Gordon Bourgard of the Department of Justice.

Bourgard said the CRA's audit power "is intended to be broad," a
concept that led to a dissenting opinion by the three justices.

"Because the authority of the CRA is so broad, it is required to
follow the procedures provided in the act rigorously," the minority
wrote.

rpenty@thespec.com

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