Evidence of meeting #72 for International Trade in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was information.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
Okay, 10% of.... Of the number of properties for those owners who had to file the UHT, what was the number? The number of people who have filed is 135,000.
Director General, Business Returns Directorate; Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
For each property, if it's owned by, for example, a co-owner, each individual is required to file a return.
The number estimated by the Department of Finance was that anywhere from 355,000 to 420,000 returns will be filed this year.
Liberal
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
Coming back to these 135,000 returns that were filed, what percentage of them was filed by individuals?
Director General, Business Returns Directorate; Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
So far, this is only based on the 135,000 returned files. The number seems to be even, but a little bit gears towards the individual side. The majority has been filed by individuals.
Director General, Business Returns Directorate; Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
It's 50-plus per cent.
Liberal
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
Out of those individuals who have filed, that includes partnerships, trusts, etc. Is that correct?
Director General, Business Returns Directorate; Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
That is correct.
Liberal
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
Okay.
Now I'll come back to the number of units that filed for this return. Five per cent of them had to pay UHT. Next year, you will find that the number is going to go down, that 135,000, if that is the final number.
Director General, Business Returns Directorate; Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
I would caution that this 135,000 is not the final number because we expect more returns to come in. Now—
Liberal
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
Excuse me. I have limited time.
In the Fort Erie area, I believe there are about 900 properties. I think the number I heard is that about 160, 200 or 300 may have to file.
Is it possible, once all the filings are done, for you to segregate and identify, from which province, how many people had to file and how many people actually had to pay the tax? My speculation is that maybe 150 people may come from the Ontario side, and I'm sure the United States representative, Mr. Higgins, will not put his considerable weight behind the passing of legislation attacking our snowbirds because 150 people from his state had to file this UHT.
Director General, Business Returns Directorate; Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
Absolutely. We'll be able to present data based on the location of the property and also based on whether it was filed by individuals, partnerships or corporations.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Earlier, Ms. Rizzo, you talked about the recommendations you made when the bill was introduced. Is it possible to have them? If you don't have them, you can simply send them to us here at the committee.
Director General, GST/HST Rulings Directorate, Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
I definitely don't have them with me here. It's something we'd have to go back and take a look at in terms of what our comments are. We can get back to the committee on that.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Okay. Thank you very much.
We talked about the exemption for a cottage, for example, if it is occupied for at least 28 days during the calendar year. We won't be able to talk about this at length, as I only have a very short time, but out of curiosity, I'd like to know what the verification mechanism would be. Should we simply take the taxpayer's word for it? How can we verify whether someone has spent 28 days at their cottage during the calendar year?
Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Directorate; Compliance Programs Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
I thank the member for his question.
There will be a process to verify this information. This could include asking the taxpayer to provide us with information showing that they were present at the cottage or house in question during that period. This documentation can take many forms. We would be prepared to have this conversation with the taxpayer and to see supporting documents.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
That amounts to saying that you will rely on people's good faith. Whatever the mechanism, I don't see how you're going to be able to say that the taxpayer was there for 28 days. For example, I can tell you that I was at the cottage for 28 days because that's what you want to hear, but you won't know whether it was really 17 days or 54 days. The fact remains that it will depend more on the good faith of the taxpayer. Is that correct?
Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Directorate; Compliance Programs Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
Yes, it often relies heavily on transparent communication with the taxpayer. However, we have access to other information that can be added to taxpayers' returns. At the end of the day, it's still a discussion about the evidence concerning the taxpayer's current situation.
Bloc
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
This is about the CRA's administering this tax. Are there any other pieces in the tax law in Canada that you administer that are like this—where you need a considerable amount of information from people, such as whether they live within the boundaries of one of these urban areas or not, whether they own property?
There are other things. When you're filling out your taxes, you come across a question like, “Do you have $10,000 outside Canada”, or something like that—I forget exactly what it is—and you just check a box and move on.
Are there any other pieces of tax law like this that you administer that involve this extra work on the part of residents or non-residents—that it's just gathered for information's sake?
Director General, Business Returns Directorate; Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
The question you're referring to on the T1 form relates to foreign property in excess of $100,000. That's one question. We have certain declarations and elections that taxpayers can make with regard to, for example, their principal residence. There may be other situations, but I'll pass it on to my colleagues if they have anything to add.
