Zapper

The CRA is attempting to hunt down store owners who install software that “suppresses” records of cash sales made through a cash register. Maybe that’s an argument for making a voluntary disclosure now. Visit the taxman before he visits you.

Records

The latest edition of Taylor Leibow‘s Business Matters has an interesting article about record-keeping and the preparation of death returns. The article points out that poor record-keeping can be problematic in a tax system that expects taxpayers to prove they…

Space oddity

In Payette v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 348, the taxpayer, a retired accountant, was attempting to develop a novel propulsion system for interstellar exploration. He claimed business expenses and SRED tax credits for his efforts. The Minister was skeptical, perhaps because ‘Mr. Payette was able to prove the concept worked “to my satisfaction but not to anyone else’s”‘. Indeed, the Canadian Space Agency found the following, according to the Court: