No, it's a good question.
From our discussions with Finance and the Canada Revenue Agency, we're not aware of any other group or organization that files under section 143. The terminology in that section never uses the term “Hutterite”, but it does describe the lifestyle of a Hutterite colony.
Going back to 1961, the general allocation rules were pretty similar to what happened inside regular and normal agricultural businesses at that time. Section 143 is a good example of legislation recognizing the unique nature of this organization. Prior to 1961, they filed as a religious organization and took a religious exemption, so they did not pay income tax. This recognized that there is a business there, and it is an agricultural business.
The colonies agree with that, and they are more than happy to pay tax on their profits. Because they take an individual vow of poverty, without section 143 the taxation system would be very different, and there would be some challenges I think with respect to some of their cultural and religious beliefs.
It's a good working mechanism; we just feel it needs to be brought up to date with the modernization that's happened throughout the rest of the Income Tax Act. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until 1997 that there was actually a recognition of income to a husband and wife at a Hutterite colony; only one adult number was actually permitted to file an income tax return.