That’s what happened to a Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayer who was back in court in September to appeal a 2020decision. The CRA had reassessed the taxpayer’s 2011 tax return beyond the normal three-year reassessment period, reducing the amount of deductible business expenses he claimed, and removing the rental revenue and associated losses arising from the rental of three units to his kids at below-market rent.
The CRA reassessed the taxpayer’s 2011 return and allowed him to deduct expenses of $3,715, resulting in a business loss of $3,688. The CRA did not dispute that the taxpayer had a business, but it nonetheless disallowed $15,951 in expenses on the basis they were not incurred for the purposes of earning income or were not reasonable in the circumstances.Article content
For example, when asked about the purchase of an iPod, the taxpayer “could not remember or explain how that was related to .” Similarly, when questioned about the payment of a Canada Border Services Agency import fee, the taxpayer “could not remember or explain how the import fee was related to his business,” admitting he didn’t have any clients outside Canada.Article content
The judge similarly questioned the taxpayer’s meal expenses and travel costs. “I am skeptical that five trips … in December, including one in the week between Christmas and New Year’s and one on a Saturday, were necessary or even desirable,” the judge wrote. As to the size of the meal expenses, the judge concluded it was “not reasonable to spend hundreds of dollars on meals to earn a $27 commission.