Evidence of meeting #60 for Finance in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendments.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Trevor McGowan  Director General, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
Jenifer Aitken  Executive Director and Senior General Counsel, Legal Services, Law Branch, Department of Finance
Miodrag Jovanovic  Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

That's the last question, Mr. Fast.

2:10 p.m.

Conservative

Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC

You guys are awful.

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

I have a point of order from Mr. Gerretsen. I'm sorry, Mr. McGowan.

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON

With all due respect, Mr. Chair, Mr. Fast just said, off the cuff, “You guys are awful.” Can he explain who he is referring to? Is it the departmental officials who are before us? If so, he owes an apology for that comment.

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

I'm going to leave it at that. You've made your point.

Mr. McGowan, do you want to say a couple of last words in this round? Then we'll move on to Ms. Dzerowicz.

2:10 p.m.

Director General, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance

Trevor McGowan

As I said, it was an announcement of the government's proposal. As we start with the approval process, of course the Department of Finance officials provide advice to the minister, and then we implement the government's decisions. I was simply trying to highlight the fact that this was a government proposal to table a bill in Parliament that would affect the application date of the amendments included in Bill C-208.

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

Thank you.

2:10 p.m.

Conservative

Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC

On a point of order, Mr. Chair, my comment that “you guys are awful” was not addressed to our civil servants, and it certainly wasn't addressed to Mr. McGowan. It was addressed to my Liberal friends across the table from us, who were heckling and guffawing about our asking very significant questions of Mr. McGowan related to Bill C-208.

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

We'll leave it at that on the across the table. We're more than two sword lengths apart here, so we're okay at the moment. We will go to Ms Dzerowicz.

Because we don't have the witnesses here at the table, Mr. McGowan, if some of your other colleagues want to come in and assist on an answer or give an answer, they'll have to yell, I guess. It's the only way I can bring them in, or you can direct us that way.

Ms. Dzerowicz, go ahead for six minutes, if you could, or a little better.

July 20th, 2021 / 2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the three officials from our Department of Finance for being here today. I really appreciate their being here to answer our questions.

I want to start off by clarifying a couple of things, because I think it's important to have this on the record. Could you please explain the difference between coming into force and application, or coming into effect?

2:10 p.m.

Director General, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance

Trevor McGowan

It is a somewhat arcane thing that doesn't come up much, but it is critically important in the preparation of tax amendments.

As I said initially, for example, the amendments in Bill C-208 came into force on the date they received royal assent; that is to say that the bill amended the Income Tax Act on that date.

That doesn't necessarily mean their application to any particular transaction is going to be clear. In particular, when we're putting together income tax amendments, we typically set out specific application dates. For example, one reading of a coming-into-force date in the middle of a taxation year is that it applies to transactions that occur on or after the date of royal assent. Another reading of the measure is that because a taxpayer's liability for tax crystalizes at the end of the taxation year when it is computed, it's the law at the end of the taxation year that is relevant for the purposes of computing tax.

A coming-into-force date that simply appears in the act on, let's say, June 29, is ambiguous in that it's not clear if it applies to transactions that occur on or after that particular date or for the 2021 taxation year. That's the reason we typically, in drafting income tax amendments, set out specifically when an amendment applies. It could apply, for example, in respect to transactions that occur on or after a particular date. It could apply as of a particular taxation year. There are a number of different formulations. We do that to address that and provide clarity—

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

Thank you. I'm sorry, but it's past two minutes now, and I have to get to a few more questions. I appreciate your response.

I'll get to it very quickly. What was the intention behind the June 30 news release? Was it to change the coming-into-force date, the date on which Bill C-208 came into law?

2:15 p.m.

Director General, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance

Trevor McGowan

I apologize. I'll try to be more brief.

As I said, the coming into force of Bill C-208 was a factual matter. It amended the Income Tax Act on June 29. That's just when it produced its effect.

The proposed amendment would.... Of course, it would have to be included in a bill, as stated. The government would have to propose it to introduce legislation, and that bill would need to receive royal assent. If passed, it would have the effect of providing that the amendments that had been made as a result of Bill C-208 would apply as of January 1, 2022.

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

It would go into effect, but the amendments would be applied after January 1, 2022, according to the news release.

2:15 p.m.

Director General, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance

Trevor McGowan

Yes. It's quite common that when income tax amendments are made, they apply as of a future date. A bill like Bill C-30, the recent budget bill, might have a number of amendments that, even though it also received royal assent on June 29, might not start to apply until a later taxation year or a later date in the future, in order to give the taxpayers and the tax administration time to respond.

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

If I own a family farm right now and I decide I'm going to sell it to my daughter, and that transaction happens over the next month, what actually happens? Does Bill C-208 apply, or is whatever is passed or introduced as of November 1 retroactive to sales after June 29?

2:15 p.m.

Director General, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance

Trevor McGowan

The July 19 announcement provided that Bill C-208 amendments currently apply and that any new amendments put forward by the government, which as we discussed would need to be included in a bill and passed through Parliament, would not apply before November 1, 2021.

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

If I sold a farm to my daughter right now, would Bill C-208 apply, including whatever amendments we actually make for the income tax provisions that we introduce after November 1?

2:15 p.m.

Director General, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance

Trevor McGowan

The relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act as amended by Bill C-208 would apply to a transaction undertaken today. That's based on yesterday's press release. The government announced that any new amendments would not apply before November 2021. For any transaction undertaken between now and the end of October, the government announced that whatever new conditions it might include in the bill, which, again, would need to be passed by Parliament, would not apply.

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

I'm actually clear on that, thank you.

I have another question. As you know, Mr. McGowan, the bill that finally passed.... It's actually after the third time of being introduced into the House of Commons that it has passed. It's been discussed for probably around 10 years within the finance department. We know that the U.S. and Quebec already have a model that works. Why is it taking so long to address the loopholes we've identified?

2:20 p.m.

Director General, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance

Trevor McGowan

It's a complex issue with a number of competing factors. As I said in my earlier committee appearance, a lot of people have an intuitive sense of what it means to transfer a business to the next generation, but it is a difficult thing to legislate with precision so that all of the genuine intergenerational transfers are accommodated under the rules but more contrived or artificial transactions are not. It is a complex thing.

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

Thank you.

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

Did you want to add more there, Trevor?

2:20 p.m.

Director General, Tax Legislation Division, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance

Trevor McGowan

No, thank you.

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

All right. We'll go to Mr. Ste-Marie, followed by Ms. Mathyssen.